Laura Hignett is deaf and pregnant. For the next few months, Laura will be sharing her diary entries and her experiences with us as she prepares for the birth of her first child . This week, Laura talks about booking ante-natal appointments.
14 Weeks to go
Last week I wrote about my experience of going along to my antenatal appointments.
This week I have come across something that’s infuriated me – I have discovered that the process of booking antenatal classes is not accessible for deaf mothers to be.
I am meant to attend three appointments which are to prepare me for the birth. I said to the midwife ‘I cannot call up to make the appointments, is there an online booking system instead or a text messaging service?’
Their response was to ask my partner to do it on my behalf!
I highlighted that I should be given the opportunity to book it myself and not having to rely on my partner constantly. It takes away your independence when you rely on people all the time.
So I went home feeling annoyed about how inaccessible organisations like the NHS really are. You only have to look at the newspapers – last week it was reported a deaf couple were denied the right to an interpreter during the birth of their child.
Why is it that organisations are getting away with not providing for deaf and hard of hearing people? More needs to be done and when discovering about how I can make a complaint about booking antenatal classes I came across this link online – making health information more accessible: www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/patients/accessibleinfo-2/
This is a great opportunity for deaf and hard of hearing people to highlight the need to make information more accessible.
See you next week
Laura x
Laura is profoundly deaf, has worked as a press officer for the government and is freelance journalist. She is sharing with us her experiences of becoming a deaf parent for the first time and is campaigning for better accessibility for deaf people.
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pennybsl
January 30, 2014
Just now, I lost two totally frustrating hours dealing with EE / Orange Service via Text Relay, when I wanted to report my Blackberry handset being ‘wiped out & crashed’ yesterday morning ………instead of going to the EE shop (which would have also taken me the same amount of time away from home).
First I do value my old trusty minicom very much.
Text Relay is a lifeline, many operators are considerate.
I was just gobsmacked at the worsening access through a phone company, compared with a few years ago.
However, like you, Laura, I felt very cheated by the experience as an independent person, more so as a lone occupant in my home, as a Deaf widow.
The issue would not have been resolved differently previously, as my husband was Deaf too, but any Deafie hitting such telecommunication “walls” need emotional support.
Despite nearly two decades after the DDA started, we Deafies are made a lot more vulnerable when idiotic telecommunications barriers rear up at times of need.
So huge empathy to you, Laura, because in this so-called modern society we Deafies are made to feel unnecessarily small – even minute! – by protocols which literally do pull the rug from under our feet as responsible adults.
Laura, you know how much time and dignity are precious to us, and being forced to bear unnecessary anger and frustration as well as being pulled down several notches in the social /NHS hierarchy.
Your baby must also feel that, and he/she certainly will become a campaigner in his/her generation!
Semhar
January 31, 2014
Good to see you on here, Laura!