- Aim: To enable people who are deaf or hard of hearing to make informed decisions about their lives.
- Impact: We carried out 274 outreach events reaching over 4,000 people. These included people from the Indian and Islamic communities, as well as groups associated with Age Concern, Help the Aged and Alzheimer's Society. As a result of this partnership work, we are reaching more people than ever before and raising awareness of services available to people who are deaf or hard of hearing and those who have tinnitus.
- Aim: To provide high-quality information and aftercare services for people who wear hearing aids.
- Impact: We've more than doubled the number of Hearing Aid Project users, from 89 last year to 258 this year. The project uses trained volunteers, the majority of whom are hearing aid wearers themselves, to support those who are having difficulty using their hearing aids. Volunteers also provide information at audiology clinics on a regular basis and we continue lobbying to have this service delivered at all audiology clinics throughout Northern Ireland.
- Aim: To increase RNID community services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing with additional support needs so that they can live more independently.
- Impact: We have established befriending services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing in both the Western and Northern Health and Social Care Trust areas. In this way we support more than 30 people who have become isolated within their communities or are experiencing difficulties because of their hearing loss.
- Aim: To work towards better mental health services for people who are deaf.
- Impact:
We continue working to ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the Bamford Review of Mental Health and Disability Learning. These recommendations include establishing local inpatient facilities; adopting a tiered approach to mental health services for people who are deaf; and ensuring that staff and community mental health teams have the knowledge and skills they need to work with people who are deaf.
We are also working with the NI Forum on Mental Health and Deafness and specialist mental health and deafness team, which is carrying out research on current issues and needs. Their research will support the recommendations above.
- Aim: To improve early support services so children who are deaf or hard of hearing have the same opportunities as everyone else.
- Impact: RNID and NDCS met with Department of Education NI (DENI) representatives to discuss early years support services. £10,000 funding for training Teachers of the Deaf following newborn hearing screening has been allocated by DENI. NDCS, supported by RNID, is mapping all early years support services for children in Northern Ireland who are deaf so that we can identify and fill any gaps in services.
- Aim: To continue our campaign to ensure NHS waiting times for patients needing hearing aids are reduced.
- Impact: We are lobbying to ensure that waiting times for audiology referrals are recorded accurately. Current waiting times, with 90% of patients waiting less than 12 weeks to fitting and 10% waiting 12-24 weeks, do not include waiting times at ear, nose and throat (ENT) departments. This will help to ensure that waiting times are reduced and therefore increase patient service and wellbeing.