Older Deaf People and Social Care: A Review

The Royal Association for Deaf People and [sonus] are committed to delivering services that Deaf people want and need. For some time now we have been concerned about the lack of provision of care and support services delivered in British Sign Language (BSL).

Having access to communication is important for us all. For people who are Deaf being in the company of people with whom they can communicate is vital to their health and well being. It reduces feelings of isolation and incidence of depression. Being able to communicate with care workers about their care needs without the need to use interpreters is important; it helps to build relationships and ensure that older Deaf people’s needs are fully understood and that they receive the best possible care and support.

Many older Deaf people are increasingly faced with the dilemma of moving into residential care services which do not use BSL, near their families or moving some distance away to live with other BSL users in a residential care service. We believe this is not a choice Deaf people should be forced to make.

This report is a first step to making sure that the needs of older Deaf people are understood by decision makers and commissioners. It also demonstrates our intention to address the challenges that older Deaf people face and our commitment to ensuring that care and support services are developed to meet the needs of older Deaf people.