One of the most difficult moments in Samantha Baines’ life – giving birth – was made even more stressful by a lack of appropriate communication support.
Here, actress, comedian, and author Samantha shares her story of navigating maternity care and healthcare services as a deaf person, highlighting the urgent need for improvements in accessibility.
Samantha’s story
By sharing my story, I hope to highlight the urgent need for the NHS to improve its accessibility for people who are deaf and have hearing loss. No one should have to fight just to be able to communicate about their own healthcare.
Despite informing healthcare professionals that I’m deaf and can’t answer calls, they consistently ring me and seem surprised when I remind them that I am deaf. This has happened multiple times, even though my communication needs are clearly recorded in my notes.
One of the most difficult experiences I had was during my NHS c-section.
I had specifically requested a lipreader to be present so that I could follow what was happening. The staff had no idea what a lipspeaker was, and I had to repeatedly explain and even direct the midwife team to a website that explained how to book one.
Eventually, a lipspeaker was arranged, but when my waters broke early, there wasn’t one available on site. As a result, I didn’t have one during my surgery. Fortunately, a nurse in the room had a deaf mother and was able to assist, but she had other responsibilities and couldn’t solely focus on me. It left me feeling even more vulnerable in an already vulnerable situation.
A human rights issue
This experience made me feel ignored and undervalued as a person simply because I am deaf.
I had to fight at every stage of my difficult pregnancy just to have access to the support I needed. I was already exhausted from the pregnancy itself, and the added stress of constantly having to advocate for myself was overwhelming.
All mothers deserve to be able to communicate and understand what is happening at all stages of their pregnancy – especially during the birth. The fact that deaf mothers are being denied this right is a serious human rights issue.
The challenge of GP appointments
Beyond maternity care, my experience with general healthcare has been similarly frustrating.
Accessing my GP is incredibly difficult because the booking system relies on telephone calls. I can book an appointment online, but the follow-up is always a phone call. I have asked for a video call so that I can lipread or use captions, but this request has been refused.
On one occasion, a GP receptionist even challenged me, suggesting that I wasn’t really deaf because I had spoken to a GP on the phone before. It felt as though she didn’t believe me, even though my medical records clearly state my hearing loss.
The barriers to accessing my GP mean that I often avoid seeking medical care altogether, which inevitably has a negative impact on my health.
The NHS needs to change
The NHS needs to make significant changes to improve communication accessibility for deaf patients. Hospitals should have on-site interpreters as part of their staff. There should be better systems in place for recording communication needs, and these records should be checked before appointments to ensure communication needs are met.
Staff also need proper training to understand what adjustments are required and how to implement them. Additionally, services should provide alternative communication options, such as email addresses instead of relying solely on phone calls.
I have been navigating the NHS as a deaf person all my life and unfortunately, I have never had a positive experience of communication support within the NHS.
Despite multiple healthcare professionals recording my communication needs, only once has a staff member checked this information ahead of time. This failure to acknowledge and meet the needs of deaf patients is unacceptable and must change.
I love the NHS, I think they need more funding, and they do an amazing job at so many things, but accessibility is a real issue.
About Samantha
Actress, comedian, and author Samantha Baines is a passionate advocate for deaf awareness. As someone who is deaf and wears hearing aids, she has firsthand experience of the challenges that many deaf individuals face when accessing healthcare.
