Deaf News: SignHealth chair receives OBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours

Jackie Driver, chair of the Board of Trustees at the Deaf health charity SignHealth, has received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours – it has been announced.

Driver, who is also chair for the Manchester-based disabled people’s organisation Breakthrough UK, was awarded the honour for “services to hearing impaired people, equality, diversity and inclusion”.

She is one of 206 people to receive an OBE, and joins The Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith, Pirates of the Caribbean actor Jonathan Price and former Strictly Come Dancing star Arlene Phillips on the list of successful candidates.

Big congratulations to Jackie Driver, Chair of SignHealth’s Board of Trustees, as she receives an OBE award! #QueensBirthdayHonours
–Video transcript below– pic.twitter.com/XX8oWrJI1C

— SignHealth (@SignHealth) June 12, 2021

Responding to the news, SignHealth’s chief executive James Watson-O’Neill told The Limping Chicken: “All of us at SignHealth are incredibly proud to have Jackie as our chair.

“Jackie’s whole career has been spent fighting for social justice so it is fantastic to see her commitment to equality recognised in this way. Congratulations Jackie!”

Awards were also given to those who played a part in tackling the coronavirus pandemic, including Professor Andrew Pollard from the Oxford Vaccine Group and former UK Vaccines Taskforce head Kate Bingham – who received a knighthood and a damehood respectively.

Commenting on the honours, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Throughout the pandemic we have seen countless examples of every day heroes. From those using their expertise to help develop life-saving vaccines, which are now being rolled out successfully to all parts of the UK, to the people who have given time and energy to care for their communities.

“We should take heart from the stories of those receiving honours today and be inspired by their courage and kindness. May they be a reminder of all that we can achieve when we come together as a society.”

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.

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Update – 17.06.21: Speaking to The Limping Chicken over email, Jackie said she felt “humbled and proud” to have received the award.

“Proud of everyone who takes steps every day towards fairness for all. Why more people don’t do it is a mystery to me – fairness is not a zero sum game; no one loses, everyone wins.”

Jackie also revealed that she learned she had been successful around a month in advance, with the Cabinet Office writing to her asking if she would accept the OBE.

“I did deliberate for a while, because of course the empire has unpleasant connotations for too many people, but I know that you need to be in it to win it.

“I have already joined forces to campaign to get the award changed to Order of British Excellence,” she went on to add.

Jackie continued to say that the “recognition of Deaf people’s lived experience” was also a consideration for her, and said that she didn’t know why the term “hearing impaired” was used in the reason for her receiving the honour.

“Receiving an OBE because of the work of SignHealth and many many other D/deaf people fighting for equal rights and justice has to be an opportunity to show the world that the new normal should be just that – that being Deaf is just a normal part of being human.