Consultation and Engagement
This section is used to summarise the views of the public, dedicated groups and service users. It can make use of formal assessment of views, such as obtained from surveys, feedback meetings and focus groups.
The Joint Sensory Support Plan met with a wide range of local people living with sensory loss, with Deaf BSL users and parent-carers. Local people have said that having sensory loss / being Deaf in Hartlepool means:
- Facing challenges to mobility, access to information and services; experience many barriers to communication.
- There is little awareness of sensory loss or of being a Deaf person / BSL. One major impact is loneliness.
- Information is often not accessible: small text, no audio / audio description, no British Sign Language (BSL) version – English is not the first language of BSL users.
- Parent-carers struggle to get local information or help on sensory loss / Deaf; feel isolated and ignored.
- Relying on taxis to travel around the town in the evening as there are no buses means keeping in touch with others becomes unaffordable and limits social and leisure activities.
- No sensory loss or Deaf awareness makes leisure / fitness provision inaccessible. This includes background noise which makes listening hard.
- Services don’t know how to communicate; few BSL courses, no Deaf awareness and communication skills training, how to hire a communication professional.