Reports of a deaf patient being given the wrong vaccine because she was not provided with a British Sign Language interpreter are indicative of a wider issue within the NHS of provision for patients who are deaf or have hearing issues, medical negligence experts at Switalskis say.

The news comes just weeks after Switalskis supported a deaf couple at an inquest into the tragic death of their three-year-old daughter, who was also deaf, at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. The family also experienced serious difficulties in communicating with medical staff at Doncaster.

Alongside the Drinnan family, medical negligence solicitors at Switalskis have also raised the issue of British Sign Language (BSL) provision for deaf patients with the family’s local MP and with the RNID, the national hearing loss charity.

A recent report from the RNID highlighted the continued challenges that deaf people and those with hearing loss faced when accessing services in the NHS, concluding that ‘the NHS does not have the systems in place to fulfil the right to accessible healthcare for people who are deaf or have hearing loss’.

Deaf patient ‘not aware of what they were consenting to’

The report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, called ‘Spotlight on accessible communications: your stories, your rights ’, highlighted the case of a patient, referred to as Samantha.

It says that Samantha went to an appointment at a doctor’s surgery in Northamptonshire in October 2022 for a flu vaccination, accompanied by her grandmother. No BSL interpreters were available but she typed ‘flu jab only’ into her phone and showed it to the GP practice when they tried to communicate with her.

Samantha had a different appointment booked for her COVID-19 vaccine a few weeks later. She said she was not asked any clinical screening questions or warned about the side effects of the vaccine. She said she did not know that it was the COVID-19 vaccine that was then given to her.

Samantha said she had side effects from the vaccine, including it affecting her sleep, and was shocked to find out she had been given the COVID-19 vaccine without consenting to it.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) concluded that the GP practice believed it had got consent for the COVID-19 jab through Samantha’s grandmother but Samantha said her grandmother had early-stage dementia and was not with her in the treatment room.

The PHSO said it was not appropriate for the nurse to communicate to a patient’s relative instead of using a qualified BSL interpreter and that there was no way to know if Samantha’s grandmother was a qualified translator.

Guidelines from NHS England are that a BSL COVID-19 vaccination consent video is available if an interpreter cannot be present in these situations. The PHSO concluded that there was no record that Samantha was given the opportunity to watch this video.

It said the GP practice now has a contract with a sign language interpreting company and also now displays posters in the surgery with information on services available for patients with impairments.

The PHSO report also highlighted other issues faced by deaf patients and those with hearing loss within the NHS in accessing treatment and with communication.

‘Not an isolated issue’: our expert’s view

The cases highlighted by the PHSO echo the experience of Switalskis clients Sarah and Peter Drinnan, whose daughter Ciara, who had been diagnosed at birth with kidney failure, died in January 2025 after attending Doncaster Royal Infirmary with laboured breathing.

The couple, from Doncaster, which has one of the largest deaf communities in the UK, have both raised issues about the challenges in communicating with medical staff within the NHS and the lack of BSL interpreter availability and are working with the RNID and Switalskis to call for better availability of interpreters for deaf patients in the NHS.

Luke Simpson , specialist medical negligence solicitor with Switalskis who is supporting the Drinnan family in the inquest process and their legal action, said the report from the PHSO came as no surprise and added: “This shows that the experience of the Drinnan family was not an isolated issue.

“Their experience was very concerning and they have said that the tragic events surrounding Ciara’s death were not the only time that they had had issues communicating with medical staff when accessing NHS services.

“The PHSO report makes clear that the NHS is often failing to meet the needs of deaf patients and those with hearing loss and this is something which needs addressing urgently. Deaf patients have every right to expect NHS services to be accessible. The consequences of miscommunication and of deaf patients not being able to understand what medical staff are saying can be devastating.

“We will continue to support Sarah and Peter and the RNID in their work to improve accessibility for deaf patients and those with hearing loss. It’s a hugely important issue which needs urgent attention and action. BSL interpreters are vital to ensure deaf people understand the treatment they are receiving, in the same way other patients can.”

Still Ignored and Locked Out: ongoing challenges for deaf patients

The RNID and Sign Health report in 2025‘, called Still ignored: the fight for accessible healthcare ’ said: ‘The NHS does not have the systems in place to fulfil the right to accessible healthcare for people who are deaf or have hearing loss’.

In its report, the PHSO also referenced a report from the Disability Unit at the Cabinet Office published ‘Locked Out ’, which highlighted the continuing exclusion of deaf and deafblind BSL users across health and social care in the UK.

The PHSO also flagged that, by law, public services have to provide for people with accessible communication needs. It referenced the Equality Act 2010 which requires public services to make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled people have the same access to information and services as other users.