THE head of a Gloucestershire deafness charity has called for wallet-sized cards to help identify patients as deaf to be distributed across the rest of the UK.

Gloucestershire Deaf Association has been working with the county’s hospitals trust to create the cards.

These cards show that the patient’s first language is British Sign Language and that they require communication support, such as an interpreter.

GDA’s chief executive, Jenny Hopkins, said that there were previously concerns that this would stigmatise deaf patients but that these have been rebuffed.

“Initial objections to the cards centred around the idea that an ID card somehow stigmatises the deaf patient, but this is a hearing person's false perception,” she said.

“Deaf people feel no stigma about being deaf. However, because it is so easy mistake deafness for other conditions, including dementia or learning difficulties, it is critical that in a medical situation particularly, it is recognised immediately and communication support is put in place promptly.

“We are enormously grateful to Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for putting their trust in deaf patients to know what works for them.”

GDA says there is clear evidence which shows that deaf patients are often unable to access clinical services and take part in health consultations in a way hearing people often take for granted.

Studies, such as SignHealth’s ‘sick of it’ report in 2014, have shown this ‘inadvertent negligence’ leads to poorer health outcomes.

Suzie Cro, head of patient experience improvement at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We went to the GDA and had a focus group back in April and since then we have worked together with the GDA to implement improvements for people.

“We are so pleased that this initiative will make a big difference to our patients’ experience.”

Social media posts from GDA letting deaf people know about the communication cards attracted more than 10,000 responses in 24 hours.

GDA is now campaigning for NHS England and NHS Improvement to ask all commissioners and providers to introduce similar cards within their areas.

The charity has started a petition to help make this a reality, click here to sign it.