Deaf Awareness Week
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3rd-9th May 2021 marks Deaf Awareness Week where people and organisations come together to celebrate Deafness, raise awareness of best practice and use the week for demonstrating change and positivity.
Some of the key aims of the week include promoting access to services and ensuring people have accessible information. We know how important it is that people who are Deaf or who have hearing loss have information about safeguarding adults in a format that is accessible to them. We have a short BSL film which explains what safeguarding adults is, how to report a concern and what happens after a concern is reported.
We know people communicate in different ways. If you have a concern about abuse or neglect, you can report it to us in a number of different ways:
Please visit our report a concern webpage to find out more.
If you cannot make voice calls, you can now contact the 999 emergency services by SMS Text from your mobile phone. The service has been specifically designed for people with hearing loss or difficulty with speech.
You will only be able to use the service if you have registered with emergencySMS first. Register now, don’t wait for an emergency.
To register, text ‘register’ to 999. You will get a reply – then follow the instructions you are sent.
Then, in an emergency:
And provide the following information
The emergency service will either ask for more information or will tell you that help is on the way. Don’t assume that your message has been received until the emergency service sends a message back. It will usually take about two minutes before you get a reply. If you don’t get a reply within three minutes, please try again or find other ways of getting help.
Find out more by visiting the emergencySMS website.
We will ensure people who are Deaf are supported to be involved in the safeguarding adults process. We take a person-centred approach to supporting people and will find out from the person how they would like to be supported. This might involve an interpreter, an advocate and/or a family member.
If you are supporting someone who is Deaf in the safeguarding adults process, follow these useful tips from the UK Council on Deafness to help with communication: