Deaf Victoria launched the report from an inquiry into the provision of Auslan Interpreters in Victorian Public Hospitals on Friday 13th June 2013. The inquiry was commenced in August 2013 in response to stories from deaf parents having babies in hospitals where they refuse to provide interpreters during the birth as it costs too much, deaf people having serious health complications and waiting up to two days to get an interpreter to find out critical information about their health from their doctors. It’s sadly commonplace to hear of deaf family members needing to make decisions for elderly relatives, however interpreters are not provided for them because “the patient is not deaf” and deaf parents refused interpreters for antenatal classes after hours. A deaf patient with a series of health complications was provided with an interpreter “sometimes” and as a result, is in chronic pain and treatment delayed again and again due to misunderstandings in communication.
Seventy-two (72) people were captured in this inquiry, and involved a number of hospitals all over Victoria. It is important to note that the intention of this project is not to target health services or interpreting agencies, but to simply gather data from the deaf and hard of hearing communities, interpreters and other users of the service to identify problem areas and work to resolve and ease the issues. The recommendations for change are also noted in the report.
This report has also been sent to the Department of Health, and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, and we hope to work together with you, and with them, to find a best way forward for all health services and Deaf and hard of hearing Victorians.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me on melissa.lowrie@deafvictoria.org.au and I will be happy to discuss this project with you.
You can read the report here.