Juliet England: Deaf woman recounts ‘appalling’ treatment at Covid testing centre

Ayesha Gavin, a 43-year-old self-employed BSL teacher and disability awareness trainer from Bacup, Lancashire, has spoken of the ‘appalling’ treatment she experienced when she visited a Covid-19 testing centre.

The owner of Ayesha Communications, who is married to 57-year-old Mark, made a 35-minute trip by car to Haslingden, where she tested negative for the coronavirus.

Wanting some home-testing kits, she was told she could pick some up lateral flow ones from another centre at Rawtenstall.

She told Limping Chicken:

“I wanted the lateral flow test because I work in a school one day a week, and they want me to have regular Covid testing. I am not staff, so I organise my own testing.

“So I stopped off on in Rawtenstall on my way home, and spoke to the guy at the gate. I explained that I was deaf, couldn’t hear him behind his mask, and needed to lipread, but he just shook his head.”

Mrs Gavin, a BSL user who was born profoundly deaf after her mother had rubella during pregnancy, although she was not diagnosed until the age of four.

She adds that when she repeated her request, he motioned for her to follow him into the testing site.

“I wasn’t overly happy with that, because I didn’t know why he wanted me in there. I don’t think anyone would have felt comfortable, in truth. Then he used his walkie-talkie and a woman came out. She was also wearing a mask, and so I explained why I was there and asked her if she would lower her mask.”

The mother of two, herself wearing a clear visor, adds that the woman refused: “I did get rather cross at this point. I just said that she had to remove her mask, that I was deaf and needed to lipread. I also stressed that I should be provided with access given that they were providing a public service.”

After that, she says, another man emerged.

“I think he must have said something, but I couldn’t tell. I asked him a second time to pull down his mask, and he looked rather sheepish.”

She adds that the man lowered the mask briefly, but said something while his bottom lip was still covered before pulling it back up in place again.

“He spoke so quickly that I didn’t catch anything –  with the mask still across his lower lip, and a silly, embarrassed grin on his face. We were standing a good three metres apart, in a tent-like structure with plenty of airflow. I was wearing the visor and had just tested negative for the coronavirus.

“And, of course, masks do not protect the wearer; it is the other person who assumes the (minimal) risk”.

It was then that a fourth person emerged, who did lower his mask and asked if she needed help.

“I was getting more irate, as he told me that I couldn’t get the kits until 1pm. I had to explain that I was teaching between 1 and 8pm, but he insisted the kits could only be given out during those times. The discussion kept going round in circles.

“I kept saying, can you not give them to me now because I won’t be able to make it between 1 and 8, and he kept saying it doesn’t have to be me who collects them, it could be a friend.  And I kept saying that I was there now, and had stopped off on my journey to collect some testing kits.”

Mrs Gavin says eventually she gave up, as people were lining up and she felt they were watching. Equally, as she has diabetes and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and uses a Motability scooter, she felt she could not remain standing for much longer.

“I was getting annoyed although of course I didn’t shout or swear. I was trying to be persistent yet polite. But when I was speaking to the last man, and there were three others around, it felt as though they were forming a barrier in case I became abusive or violent, which is just ridiculous.

“It was very intimidating. I am 5 foot 1, and they were easily taller and bigger than me. I understand people are scared – I lost my own mum to this ghastly virus last year. So I have every reason to feel scared, too. But you have to be understanding as well.”

She says she contemplated returning to the centre with her husband the following day, but then someone suggested the kits were available online, and she ended up ordering seven of them.

“This happened near the end of March, and since then I’ve felt so tired by it all. I’m deaf with separate disabilities and an Asian woman, so I’ve come across a lot of discrimination and find it exhausting to deal with. This left me feeling tired and upset because of the unreasonableness of it. They needed to communicate in a way I could understand. Writing down would have helped.”

The local paper ran the story, and the area’s MP, the Conservative, Jake Berry, has offered to take up the matter with the local county council.

“The same day as this incident, my car had a flat tyre, and I had to get a student to ring the RAC for me. The RAC man was brilliantly helpful; he used gestures and pointing to communicate. He then followed me to a tyre centre and told people there I was a lipreader. Everyone lowered their masks, used gestures to communicate … the difference was amazing.”