Bridging inequality gap; provide sign language interpreters at hospitals
“I last went to the hospital and there was no sign language interpreter to assist me communicate with the nurses and when it was my turn to pick my folder, I couldn't hear when they were calling my name. Many patients were looking at me but I didn't know why, then I thought it could be my turn so I went for the folder but as a hearing-impaired person communicating with the nurses was not easy,” These are the words of Mr Sumani Bapio Ibrahim, a 31-year-old hearing-impaired young man in Tamale told Graphic Online.
According to him, anytime he visits the hospital, the healthcare workers do not give him the needed attention because of the communication gap between them, a situation which discourages him from visiting the hospital at all.
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Sharing his experience with Graphic Online on the negative impact of the lack of sign language interpreters in health facilities, said even though he could read and write a little, healthcare workers did not have the luxury of time to communicate with him through writing.
For Ms Salifu Asana, a 34 year-old hearing impaired woman, seeking healthcare services at facilities where no one understands sign language is really a hectic situation for many hearing-impaired persons in the country.
“I always attended antenatal with the help of an interpreter when I was pregnant but that was not good for me because there is no privacy,” she noted, wishing that health workers could learn some sign language to enable them communicate with persons with hearing difficulties.
Mr Iibrahim and Ms Asana are among the persons living with hearing impairment in Ghana who struggle every day to access quality healthcare services due to the absence of sign language interpreters at many healthcare facilities in the country.
The situation
Persons with disabilities comprise an estimated 15 per cent of the world’s population, or one billion people, of whom 80 per cent live in developing countries, with three per cent constituting Ghana’s total population of about 30 million.
Access to quality healthcare for speech and hearing-impaired persons in Ghana is a major challenge as healthcare providers are inadequately trained to work with deaf clients whose primary mode of communication is through the sign language.
Also, writing communication becomes a challenge when the hearing-impaired person does not understand some of the words written by the providers or they cannot express themselves well in writing which interferes with treatment.
Checks by Graphic Online indicates that no health facility, for instance, in the Northern region has a sign language interpreter dedicated to attending to the needs of members of the deaf community, hence creating a wide communication gap between health workers and members of the deaf community.
The Northern Regional President of the Ghana Federation of Disability, Mr Mohammed Iddrisu, said the absence of sign interpreters particularly in hospitals, courts and other service-providing facilities had made access to services difficult for persons with hearing impairment.
“In most instances, the deaf persons don’t want to visit the hospital because when they go, they are not given the needed attention,” he noted.
He indicated that if the health personnel do not understand what the deaf persons would say, the person may not be able to properly diagnose the person’s problem and give the right treatment.
Self-medication
Mr Iddrisu expressed the concern that because many hearing-impaired persons feel that they cannot be understood by health workers, they practice self-medication in most cases.
“Most of them don’t always want to go to the hospital because of the frustration they go through. They rather resort to self-medication which is very dangerous especially in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak,” he bemoaned.
Bridging Inequality gap
The Ghana Persons with Disability Act, 2006 Act 715, provides for all Ghanaians living with any form of disability the right to health care and medical treatment, however access to quality health care continue to be a major challenge.
The Act in part states: “The Ministry of Health shall include the study of disability and disability related issues in the curricula of training institutions for health professionals to develop appropriate human resources to provide general and specialised rehabilitation services…”
As part of efforts to improve access to healthcare delivery, particularly to the deaf, the Ministry of Health in May 2019 directed the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to recruit sign language interpreters at various health facilities across the country.
It was expected to be done in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ghana National Council of Persons with Disability, and the Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD).
But Mr Ibrahim believes that little has been achieved after the directive to recruit sign language interpreters at health facilities in the country.
To bridge the inequality gap, Mr Ibrahim urged the government to prioritise the needs of persons living with disabilities (PWDs) who are the most vulnerable group in society to help alleviate their plight.
“Leave no one behind”
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations includes persons with disabilities and has, as a result, made provisions for their participation and recognition as active contributing members of society who must not face any discrimination or be left out or behind.
Out of the 169 targets across the 17 Goals, seven targets have an explicit reference to persons with disabilities. Consequently, all Goals and targets are applicable to persons with disabilities by simple virtue of universality, which applies to all persons, and the overarching principle of “leave no one behind.”
There is therefore the need for persons with disabilities to be recognised and treated as equal partners by government, civil society organisations and other key stakeholders to ensure an inclusive society.
For Mr Iibrahim and Ms Asana, government must immediately act to provide sign language interpreters at various health facilities to bridge the communication gap between healthcare providers and members of the deaf community in the country.
