Information on Relay UK (previously called Type Talk and Text Relay)  

Relay UK (previously called Type talk) is run by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) and funded by BT. It helps deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people communicate with those in the hearing world using the latest app technology. 

For more information please see https://www.relayuk.bt.com/

You don't need any special kit – just download the app from the App Store or Google Play onto your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Conversations are easy to manage and relaxed and surgery staff will be happy to talk to a relay assistant for you. 
For fluent communication in English this is an option for deaf, speech impaired and the hard of hearing to communicate with the surgery team.

For further information or questions about available services please:

E mail westgatesurgery1@nhs.net 

WESTGATE SURGERY

Helping you communicate with the surgery  

Information leaflet for those who are deaf or hard of hearing 

Version 2
Approved: November 2019
Date of Review: 
Date of Next Review: 01/11/2020

Introduction 
We want to help all patients communicate with us easily so that everyone can access health care that meets their needs.

To do this we need to know how best to communicate with you. Telling us about your communication problems and how we can support you will help you get the most out of your surgery and other health services such as physiotherapy or hospital services.

Preferred Communication method
When you join the surgery we ask about your communication needs and we can review this with you at any time if your needs change.  We need to know if you are hearing impaired or deaf, visually impaired, blind or deafblind.

You may also have a communication need if you have a learning disability or a memory problem.

We will ask 
•	How to contact you
•	How information is to be given to you
•	If you need a support worker and 
•	If you need an interpreter 

Contact Methods 
If you have difficulty talking to reception and require interpreters you can contact the surgery using our patient email address; TCCG.Westgatepatient@nhs.net or Text Relay (Type talk).  
The reception team are happy to help and can use a quiet room away from reception if you need more time.

Sign Language Interpreter
We can book a Sign Language Interpreter for appointments, but this is not possible for ‘same day’ appointments. We would try to book you an Interpreter for the nearest available appointment.

All Interpreters are booked through the Big Word and are free to use. We try to make sure the doctor has a longer appointment if an interpreter will be present
Online Services
We encourage patients to order repeat prescriptions and view medical records online; you will need a password which you can get from reception with any proof of ID. On line access is a good reminder of what the doctor said at an appointment.
 
You can also book appointments on line but you cannot book an interpreter when booking this way so if you need this service please book with reception or via e mail. 

Communication Support 
We can add a simple alert to any patient’s medical records if they need support or adaptions.  Examples of alerts which can be used are:-  
•	Call patient from waiting room as they can’t hear patient call system or see call board 
•	No phone calls – patient only uses phone for text messages only
•	Lip reads, please speak slowly and clearly 
•	Always needs interpreter 
•	Can leave message with husband/wife
•	Patient prefers correspondence to be sent in a different format (i.e. Large font) 
•	Or anything else that would help you 

If we are aware of your difficulties we can make adaptions to help so please let us know what support you need. We can also pass this information on to other services if we refer you to other health care providers such as physiotherapy or hospital services 

Occasionally when contacting lots of patients with group letters or perhaps in flu season we may miss your alerts and requests for preferred communication so please forgive us if we do not always get it right.