Officials

Every month an online newspaper is released called 'The Hearing Times'. It publishes stories about/that affect HoH & deaf people. I enjoy reading the articles and normally come away feeling uplifted, as there are often positive articles in it.

However, this month there are several articles about how government officials are failing HoH & deaf people. For instance, in Wales a 52 year old deaf man was found in distress outside his home. Because he was deaf, the police that found him couldn't communicate with him. Instead of calling for an interpreter to ask what was wrong, they escorted him back into his flat and left him. Those police officers were the last people to see him alive - he was found dead in his apartment shortly afterwards.

Those that are close to me know that at the moment I am having my own issues with the police, and this latest story doesn't inspire any confidence in them whatsoever. Which is unfair. I know several people in the police force that are lovely people that are good at what they do. These people have a real passion for helping others and do a damn fine job. Unfortunately, there are just as many people that are complacent and don't care about what they do. Which affects the whole police force and gives people - myself included - a negative view of the force.

The same can be said for the NHS (National Health Service). An 83 year old deaf woman died in Gloucester whilst under the care of the NHS. Nurses at the hospital lost her hearing aid - making it impossible for her to communicate with the staff - and neglected to feed her. Because of 'the misplacement' of her hearing aids, she had no way to tell staff what was wrong.

Personally, I have had both good and bad experiences with NHS treatment. I have had several operations and when waking up from these procedures, my hearing aids have always been at hand. There have of course been instances with doctors and nurses trying to talk with me when I wasn't wearing my hearing aids - but the same can be said for everyone (including my parents!)

I just find it both appalling and sad that a) HoH/deaf people are treated differently by government officials and aren't as cared for and b) that those that DO care aren't noticed - we only hear the horror stories.

Yes, there are some nurses, doctors, police officers etc that are a disgrace to their proffession, but there are also some damn fine ones out there, whom we never hear about.

Deaf Girl