Mental Health needs of Deaf and Disabled residents.
Allocate more health and social resources to ensure that disabled and deaf people get the service that THEY feel they need, not what councils/health authorities think they need.
What we did
The London Assembly Health Committee published a consultation to understand the challenges faced by deaf and disabled people accessing mental health services.
The issues explored in this consultation will affect a large proportion of our community as around 14 per cent of adult Londoners have a disability; that’s approximately 1.1 million people.
Other studies have shown that deaf and disabled people are more likely to experience common mental health problems, especially anxiety and depression.
Healthwatch Wandsworth carried out a survey in 2017 to provide an insight into access to these services in Wandsworth.
Our survey was designed to find out how accessible and user friendly mental health care services in Wandsworth are for the deaf and disabled. along with 'difficulty accessing services'
The survey was advertised on social media and websites and taken to various outreach events in the community. We also analysed and included, where relevant, feedback from local residents from our Information and Signposting Service.
Key Findings
- Communication barriers are affecting proper diagnosis
- There needs to be more knowledge and training for healthcare professionals regarding deaf and disabled needs.
- Earlier intervention needs to happen
- Deaf and disabled people need to feel more socially included and able to participate at public events.
- Support needs to be better co-ordinated and staffs need the skills in order to communicate with deaf and disabled service users.
- Facilities that are available need to be more inclusive.
Downloads
Download and read our report on the consultation on the mental health needs of deaf and disabled residents.
If you need this report in a different format, please e mail
enquiries@healthwatchwandsworth.co.uk or call 020 8516 7767
