North Wales MS and Chair of the Senedd’s Cross Party Group on Deaf Issues, Mark Isherwood, has today emphasised the need for improved access to mental health services for Deaf people in Wales.
Speaking at the All-Wales Deaf Mental Health and Well-Being Group’s launch of the ‘Deaf People Wales: Hidden Inequalities’ Report, which he sponsored, Mr Isherwood expressed concern that Wales is the only UK Country to have no Deaf mental health service and referred to calls for the Welsh Government to make significant changes.
He said:
“Deaf people are at twice the risk of mental health problems compared to hearing people. Changes are needed to improve Deaf awareness for health and care staff, to increase staff British Sign Language skills and to improve access to mental health services for Deaf people in Wales.
“The All-Wales Deaf Mental Health & Well-Being Group are a group of Deaf and hearing professionals. They have written this report, ‘Deaf People Wales: Hidden Inequalities’, in order to start a dialogue. The report was discussed at the 21st October meeting of the Senedd’s Cross Party Group on Deaf Issues, when one of the Report’s Authors, our next speaker, Dr Julia Terry, Associate Professor of mental health and nursing at Swansea University, highlighted the challenges faced by Deaf people in Wales who experience mental health problems and called on the Welsh Government to make significant changes.
“The report reveals that Deaf people in Wales are experiencing significant mental health inequalities because there is a lack of accessible services, no specialist Deaf mental health service in Wales and limited training about Deaf issues for health and care workers.”
Mr Isherwood added:
“As Dr Julia Terry states, “the mental health of Deaf people in Wales has been a neglected issue for decades”, adding “if nothing changes, the mental health of Deaf people in Wales will continue to be at risk.”
“15 months ago, my motion calling on the Senedd to note ‘a proposal for a Bill that would make provision to encourage the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in Wales, and improve access to education and services in BSL’, was passed. Members of all Parties voted in favour of the motion, demonstrating a clear appetite for such BSL legislation across the Senedd Chamber, and I have continued to pursue this at the request of the D/deaf community in Wales.
“My motion noted that my proposed Bill would ‘ensure that the deaf community and people with hearing loss have a voice in the design and delivery of services to ensure they meet the needs of service users’. Scores of Deaf people and Deaf-led groups across Wales contacted me in support of this, telling me that, although the Welsh Government was developing a new BSL Charter for Wales, my planned Bill was an enormous step forward. Only one person wrote in opposition.”
Mr Isherwood also referred to the Statement of Opinion he tabled in the Senedd on behalf of National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) to coincide with Deaf Awareness Week, last week, which highlighted the challenges many young people face due to a lack of deaf awareness and called for teachers across Wales to be encouraged to undertake deaf awareness training.