RVH FINAL REPORTS: 2019 AND 2020

Accessing Health Care Services: Understanding the Needs of the Deaf Community

RVH Patients’ User Committee (MUHC) and the Canadian Deafness Research and Training Institute (CDRTI)

To develop a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the Deaf Community in accessing health care, the Glen-RVH Patients’ Committee carried out a consultation with Dr. James and Dr. Paige MacDougall of the Canadian Deafness Research Institute (CDRTI). 

The CDRTI is a national organization that focuses on issues concerning deafness and has an interest in furthering the understanding of information surrounding deafness and communication in hospital policies. 

The following report will review the intended scope of this consultation and explain how objectives were met. A section providing information about strategies for ensuring accessibility in other hospitals is included, with a concentration on health care policies and procedures in other regions of Quebec, in Ontario, and internationally. The involvement of Deaf volunteers in the Code Orange simulation at the Children’s Hospital is also included, providing procedural recommendations for ensuring equitable access to health care for Deaf patients at the MUHC. The positive effects of generating a welcoming environment in the hospital for Deaf persons by including symbols that represent “Sign Language Interpretation” cannot be understated. 

These recommendations have been compiled into a draft informational Deaf Access Toolkit which is intended for all levels of service providers at the MUHC. This draft Toolkit accompanies the present report. The development of on-line Deaf-Access training modules is emerging as a potential strategy for improving access to health care for Deaf patients at the MUHC, providing health care providers with insight into this special-needs minority language community. 

To Access the Full Report, Click Here.