Significant
Busy accident and emergency (A&E) departments can receive over 100,000 visits each year from badly injured or seriously ill people. These patients typically need urgent treatment and are seen in order of priority, where the most seriously ill patients are seen first.
However, our customer realised that they were unable to provide the same level of care and speed of treatment for deaf patients who use Sign Language as they were able to for those who could hear.
CI worked with Significant, a company providing video Sign Language interpretation, to implement a solution which has enabled the hospital to shorten its treatment time for deaf Sign Language-using patients from an average of 14 days to just 20 minutes.
CI has installed a system that gives access via high speed Internet connection to a remote Sign Language interpreter who can quickly interpret for hospital staff and deaf patients.
The combination of CI’s powerful high speed Internet connection and Significant’s interpreting system enables the patient to communicate via a videophone with a Sign Language interpreter who then describes their problem to the A&E staff. This ensures patients with hearing difficulty receive prompt appropriate care.
“The role of the A&E department is to treat all patients who have suffered a serious injury or accident promptly. This system enables the unit to offer the same level of service to deaf people as to any other visitor to the A&E,” says Stephen Hurst, Account Director at CI.
“Until the video interpreting system was installed they had to book an appointment with an interpreter to properly communicate with their deaf patients which often meant a two week delay. Now they can be sure that their needs can be interpreted on the spot,” he adds.