Coronavirus: Concern as deaf people struggle to access Relay UK to make vital phone calls

Numerous deaf people have expressed their concern and frustration at delays in being able to access Relay UK services, which enable them to make phone calls, a vital service during the coronavirus crisis.

This is leading to concern about whether deaf people with coronavirus who are unable to use the phone will be able to use the service in an emergency, although the coronavirus page on the Relay UK site says: “During peak demand we may have to give priority to emergency calls over the coming weeks and months, but rest assured we’ll continue to join your relay calls as soon as we possibly can.”

One deaf Relay UK user has told us how he’s been trying to use the service in order to contact his mortgage provider about meeting his mortgage payments, but has not been able to get through for two days. He has also complained, but has not received a reply.

Other deaf people have contacted us and commented on social media saying they are facing the same problems.

Yup, experiencing same problems this morning waiting for a long time for a relay assistant. Seems they are very busy & short staffed. They really need to improve their viability on their website, & a service status page would be really good.

— Dan Birtles (@MadPollardsHome) March 19, 2020

The Relay UK site says that “Our business continuity and incident management plans include maintaining critical business processes as our first priority.”

We have contacted Relay UK for their comment.