Easthill Home for Deaf People, operated by Deaf Action, recently featured in the BBC’s See Hear, a programme focusing on issues facing the deaf community.
The episode explored the residential care options that are currently available for elderly deaf people in the UK. As highlighted in the episode, Easthill is currently the only care home for deaf BSL users in the UK and is situated on the Isle of Wight.
The road to providing effective and wide-spread care to elderly deaf people in the UK is a long one, however we are extremely proud of the unique service that Easthill provides to its residents and the deaf community. At Deaf Action, our strategy includes long-term plans to improve care provisions for older deaf people, despite the lack of government funding.
With the care of elderly deaf people falling on deaf organisations, we are committed to providing for the deaf community in a way that recognises they are individuals with unique needs. We realise the importance of having the only care home in the country which can provide those essential services to the residents and will continue to strive to help improve the access to those services nationwide.
Easthill has been operating for over 50 years, offering a person-centred approach to each of our resident’s requirements. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently inspected Easthill and awarded the care home a rating of ‘Good’ across all services and provisions, an outstanding achievement. You can read more about that here: CQC Easthill rating
At Easthill, our care team use BSL to ensure residents can communicate in their preferred language. One family member reported to the CQC, “I have strong confidence in the staff at Easthill’’s ability to communicate with my relative. I feel that this communication means she is understood which forms a great basis to develop deeper understanding of her needs.”. This view was also reflected in the comments made to the CQC by external professionals.
Thank you to the See Hear team for visiting us on the Isle of Wight, and for shining a light on an issue which affects the whole deaf community. You can watch the programme here.