NHS progress for deaf patients too slow in Wales

Action on Hearing Loss has claimed that there is a long way to go before deaf patients get the increased accessibility to NHS Wales that they were promised.

Although some progress has been made, the Welsh government said it recognised there was ‘more to be done to address the remaining barriers’ as it is revealed that some patients who are deaf or have hearing loss are still being forced to use the phone or go to their GP surgery in person.

The charity warns that more than a third of patients questioned by Action on Hearing Loss visit their GP surgery in person to book appointments but only 17 per cent said they prefer to book in this way. Furthermore, approximately a quarter experienced difficulties booking urgent same-day appointments or getting urgent medical advice when their surgery was closed.

The Action on Hearing Loss Cymru survey also found that more than a third said doctors or nurses did not speak clearly or spoke too quickly and that a similar number said doctors or nurses did not check they had understood what had been said.

Rebecca Woolley, director of Action on Hearing Loss in Wales, said: "I understand and appreciate it is complex. There probably is a financial implication here in that rolling out training to frontline services in Wales is costly in certain ways. But I think that there is a huge amount that could be done that is cost-neutral to the NHS and that can be done quickly. That would make a huge impact for people when receiving care."