October 2008 Bulletin
In this Bulletin
UK Council on Deafness 2008 Annual Conference ”Action by Working Together”
Deaf Cultural Centre, Ladywood Road, Birmingham, B16 8SZ. Thursday, 6th November 2008. 10.00am – 4.30pm
A one day multi-disciplinary conference for all professionals working with deaf people
The Fifth Annual Deafness Conference is an opportunity for all professionals working with deaf people to meet and network with colleagues and to gain a greater understanding of developments taking place across the country and across the spectrum of deafness. Delegates at previous Annual Conferences have commented:
“A great networking opportunity and a chance to learn about new projects”
“Opportunity to meet and chat with other people from the sector. Get updates on other activities. Chance to publicise our own work”
“Great to hear about all that UK Council on Deafness and their members are doing. Encouragement and enthusiasm to take things forward in our area and determination to network and co-work more with other organisations”
Keynote Address: Challenging perceptions of deafness and hearing loss – RNID’s new approach. Jackie Ballard, RNID’s new Chief Executive, discusses RNID’s new strategy in the light of the changing political, scientific and public context.
Primary Presentation: Working together to improve access to health services. Steve Powell, Chief Executive of SignHealth and Phil Murden, Managing Director of SignTranslate. Surveys carried out by the NHS and by voluntary sector organisations consistently show that deaf people are denied equitable access to health services and yet the solutions are often simple to implement and cost effective and would have a significant impact on the health of deaf people. In the context of the most recent GP Patient Survey, this is a call to action for all organisations working with deaf people to work together to achieve equal access to health services for deaf people.
Supporting Presentations
Promoting Good Relations. Rob Wilks, Legal Services Manager, and Des Masterson, Social Policy Officer, Royal Association for Deaf People. Funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission this research project will identify the barriers and social exclusion experienced by all sectors of the deaf community. Deaf organisations throughout England and Wales can be involved in collecting evidence and sharing the findings to inform their work to challenge the discrimination experienced by deaf people in employment and from service providers.
Recovery and Care Programme Approach: Making CPA work for deaf people. Denise Brown, Social Worker, John Denmark Unit, Manchester. Exploring how deaf people can be included within the Care Programme Approach in order to promote and sustain their recovery through mental health services, including examples of collaborative working throughout the sector to prevent readmission and promote recovery and inclusion.
Use of genetics services in the NHS: thoughts from deaf and hard of hearing people. Dr Anna Middleton, Consultant Research Genetic Counsellor, Institute of Medical Genetics, Cardiff University. Genetic deafness affects more than 1 in 2000 people and yet deaf people rarely access genetic counselling. This research project analyses 1000 completed questionnaires from deaf people and 30 interviews in sign language to determine why this should be and seeks to make genetic counselling more accessible to deaf people.
Changing Communication After Cochlear Implantation: The Communication Journey. Alexandra Wheeler, Research Coordinator, The Ear Foundation. Examining the choices of communication mode that parents make before and after cochlear implantation through written questionnaires and in-depth interviews, this research finds that parents choose the most effective way of communicating with child whilst retaining their goal of developing oral communication skills.
The Deafblind International guidelines for service development. Malcolm Mathews, Director of Community Support & Information, Sense. The Deafblind Guidelines outline Deafblind International’s recommendations for service provision and is intended as a statement of the particular needs of deafblind people. It aims to contribute to deafblind people receiving and achieving their rights, which requires recognition of deafblindness and access to specialised services and support.
A booking form is attached. For further information about exhibiting or booking a place at the conference contact Clare Long at
c.long@deafcouncil.org.uk
Recruiting new Director of UK Council on Deafness
UK Council on Deafness is the national infrastructure body for organizations working with deaf people. It has grown substantially over the last 7 years and we now wish to appoint an experienced and highly effective Director who has the vision to take this influential organization forward.
We are seeking a passionate and highly competent individual who can develop the innovative work of UK Council on Deafness for the benefit of its member organisations and the wider deaf sector. The Director will manage the work of the organisation, building its membership base as well as taking responsibility for securing diverse funding streams to support the work of the Council.
With excellent communication, negotiation, networking and influencing skills, you are likely to have knowledge of organisations in the field of deafness as well as an understanding of and empathy with the issues relating to deafness. A thorough knowledge of the statutory and voluntary sectors, the funding regime and government processes relating to the operations of an infrastructure body is essential. You will have experience of developing organisational strategic plans and a successful track record in substantial income generation for perhaps a similar body.
If you share our vision of a world where all deaf people have the opportunity to participate fully in society and will enjoy the challenge of working closely with member organisations and government bodies to maintain UKCoD as the leading voice for deaf organisations, contact
directorrecruitment@deafcouncil.org.uk for more information.
The closing date for this post is 30 November 2008. For full details of the vacancy including how to apply and a job and person specification go to
http://www.deafcouncil.org.uk/vac.htm
For further information about UKCoD, visit our website at
www.deafcouncil.org.uk
Opportunities for Volunteering Scheme Grants
Application packs for the Department of Health's Opportunities for Volunteering grants are now available. Please Email
Roger Hewitt the UKCoD Projects Manager for an application pack.
The closing date for submission of the First Step application is 28th November. After scrutineering, you will be required to complete the full Dept of Health application form. The closing date for this is 31st December.
Successful projects must be able to demonstrate how they contribute to the Department of Health’s Strategic Objectives of:
Better health and well-being for all: Helping people to stay healthy and well, empowering them to live independently, and tackling health inequalities
Better care for all: The best possible health and social care, offering safe and effective care, when and where people need help, and empowering people in their choices
Better value for all: Delivering affordable, efficient and sustainable services, contributing to the wider economy and the nation.
Modernising Deaf Telecoms Campaign
TAG has launched a major campaign calling for better telecom services at fair prices for deaf people. Deaf people are falling behind hearing people in the ongoing telecoms revolution. Funds to modernise the RNID Typetalk relay service are not being provided even though better technologies exist. Services like video relay and captioned relay have been available only to a few people in the UK , although elsewhere in the world they are common. TAG urgently needs your support to help improve telecoms services for deaf people. The RNID Typetalk text relay service has been operating in the UK for many years and provides a lifeline for many deaf people. It is funded by BT as part of the Universal Service Obligation imposed on it by Ofcom. BT provides the technology, called TextDirect. RNID manages the service under contract to BT.
RNID Typetalk enables textphone users to contact voice phone users over the ordinary telephone network via a relay operator. It also allows deaf people to use their own voice (through Voice Carry Over -- VCO) when a deaf person wants to speak to a hearing caller but receive text as the reply. Technology has advanced considerably since RNID Typetalk officially opened in the early 1990s. Relay services using modern readily-available technologies including the Internet have appeared around the world. For example, video relay calls over the Internet are popular. The deaf sign language user has a PC or a videophone and makes calls via a relay centre and sign language interpreter. Captioned telephony, for hard-of-hearing people who want to speak on the telephone and both hear the replies and see them as text, is also very popular in the USA. Both video relay and captioned relay enable conversations at near-natural pace and often hearing callers don’t even notice that a relay operator is involved. Using older technology, the current VCO service is very cumbersome by comparison. There have been several attempts to provide relay services using newer technology in the UK, but few deaf people have had access to them and most have closed through a lack of funding. RNID, BDA and SignVideo have each set up video relay services for sign language users and Teletec ran a captioned telephony service called CapTel. Only the SignVideo service is still running.
No matter how low the costs of the technology, all relay services require a relay operator dedicated to each call. These operators are highly skilled people and do not come cheaply. A phone call between hearing people costs something like one penny per minute; relay services start somewhere around one pound per minute. Not many people can afford a pound a minute. The Access to Work scheme has provided some people with funding for relay calls but only for work-related matters during working hours. The main barrier to provision of new relay services is funding.. TAG has been working for a long time to find ways of funding relay services and has decided that a campaign is the best way forward.
TAG wants properly funded new-style relay services so that deaf people can play a full part in society. We have lots of examples of the differences that the new-style services can make to the lives of deaf people.
What is TAG doing? TAG has been working quietly with Ofcom for a long time and Ofcom is sympathetic. However, the way forward is complex. Ofcom has commissioned studies of the needs and the available technology and is studying what legal changes are needed to enable the creation and funding of new services. We believe that it is not our place to say how the services should be funded: that is the job of government. But we need to make government and the general population aware of the problems. So far we have issued two news releases and a series of case studies to raise awareness. The material has been covered by many publications, including the BBC News Online web site (
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7327245.stm) where there is an excellent video. We have also had deaf constituents demonstrate the difference between the old and new services to their MPs. We will continue this action, as it is very effective.
Bill Pechey, vice-chairman of TAG, gave a speech at a reception for MPs in May organised by the UK Council on Deafness. The issues were discussed with some MPs and their support was promised. The campaign began in April 2008 and the Parliamentary reception on 15 October is a key event in attracting support.
What exactly is TAG asking for? TAG is asking Government, Parliament and Ofcom to ensure that the following are available before the end of 2008:
• interoperable, affordable real-time text on mobile and IP networks
• interoperable, open standards based captioned relay services at no extra cost to a normal telephone call
• a UK national open standards based video relay service for fixed, mobile and Internet users
• open-standards based IP access to text relay services
• suitable text and video tariffs on all mobile networks
• deaf-aware sales and customer services.
The United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities
Hearing Concern Link
LINK unites with Hearing Concern to form a new organisation for people with acquired hearing loss
Trustees of the LINK Centre for Deafened People (LINK) and Hearing Concern have announced the merger of the two organisations, which took place on 1st October 2008. The two organisations are set to combine their knowledge and expertise, forging a new and dynamic approach that will benefit people who experience difficulties due to hearing loss in adult life.
LINK has become widely known for its outreach support and psychological rehabilitation services for deafened people, whilst Hearing Concern’s work with hard of hearing adults has provided a valuable and much needed resource.
LINK’s Chief Executive Dr Lorraine Gailey, who will lead the merged organisation says: ‘’We believe that in a rapidly changing world we can achieve so much more by working together as a single strong body than we could by continuing as two separate organisations.’’
Both Hearing Concern and LINK have the common aim of promoting the interests of, and supporting adults with, hearing loss whose preferred communication is the spoken word. The new organisation will provide individuals with a ‘one-stop shop’, obviating the necessity for hard of hearing or deafened people to look to different organisations for assistance if their hearing loss changes in any way. Audiologists and other professionals will also find it easier to be able to refer people to one organisation.
Damian Barry, Chief Executive of Hearing Concern says: "our two organisations are becoming increasingly similar as our boundaries increasingly overlap or duplicate one another and we both compete for that ever-scarce resource – funding."
The focus of the new organisation will be on meeting the social and psychological needs of people with a hearing loss and their families, largely through a volunteer-based approach. As well as providing a range of services including an information and advice service, rehabilitation and self-management programmes, personal development opportunities and leisure pursuits, it will promote awareness of hearing loss and appropriate training for professionals.
Dr Gailey concludes, ‘’Together, we have a strong history, Hearing Concern (previously the British Association of the Hard of Hearing) for 60 years and LINK for 35. With almost 100 years behind us, it is a good time to look to the future and forge together a new body that will combine the strengths of both.’’ For further details visit
www.hearingconcernlink.org
Interested in working as a Counsellor with Deaf People?
Are you interested in working as a counsellor with deaf people? Now you can train to be a qualified counsellor in British Sign Language (BSL). Inter-Psyche are a counselling and psychotherapy training centre based at the Kent and Medway NHS that trains students to British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accredited diploma standard. Inter-Psyche are offering two courses delivered in BSL:
• 1 Year Certificate in Counselling Skills, in Doncaster starting in November 2008
• 2 Year Diploma in Integrative Counselling, starting in October 2009
If you would like to meet the tutors and other people involved in the course, please come to one of the Information Days. We can tell you more about the course, and offer support to complete the application forms if you need it. Our information days will be at
• Leeds Deaf Society, 11am - 3pm 22 October 2008
• Manchester Deaf Centre, 6pm - 8pm 22 October 2008
If you want to know more about the Information Days contact SignHealth Counselling on
counselling@signhealth.org.uk
Online Legal Advice for Deaf People
Deaf BSL users living in England and Wales with a low income or receiving benefits can obtain free and confidential legal advice through a webcam with a broadband connection. Caseworkers are fluent in BSL, and will provide specialist advice at Community Legal Service Specialist Quality Mark level.
RAD Legal Services has been working in partnership with the Legal Services Commision and with Significan't Ltd to develop the service.
