My action for NHS Change Day is I’m going to challenge and actively support training within the NHS to become more inclusive, specifically around visual, and hearing impairment and dyslexia. I want to widen access to our training, and ensure that it is adapted so that it meets the needs of everyone.
I work on the School for Health Care Radicals, and one of our students had a hearing impairment and so was having problems listening to the lessons as they were being broadcast. To try to be inclusive, we spoke to our platform provider to see how they could help, and they were able to provide us with transcripts of the lessons, but not until the following Monday (our lessons are on Friday). Although this is a solution to hearing what has taken place as part of the lessons, it’s not an answer for someone looking to actively take part, as reading what has taken place after something has happened does not allow you to join the conversation or allow you to put your views across as. This could lead people to feel isolated, ignored and excluded.
Therefore, my action is to look for solutions to ensure that all of our training is accessible to all, as and when it happens.
Within the School for Health Care Radicals, I am happy to report that we did find a solution to ensure anyone with a hearing impairment could still take part in the school, as it happened live. We were able to organise live captioning of the School. There was a very slight delay of five seconds, but this solution allowed our student to be an active part of the conversation and for them to be heard.
If you would like to know more about the School for Health Care Radicals, visit www.theedge.nhsiq.nhs.uk/school.