Why you should read this article:

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To understand the challenges experienced by the deaf community when accessing healthcare

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To learn about a project that improved the experiences of deaf people when accessing information on cancer survivorship

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To develop your own ideas for improving the experiences of deaf people using your service

Deafness is the third most common disability in the world but is often misunderstood by healthcare professionals, and therefore deaf people’s experience of accessing healthcare can be suboptimal. Many deaf people use British Sign Language (BSL) as their main language, and as such experience challenges when trying to access healthcare and communicate with healthcare professionals. Nurses at the Macmillan Information and Support Centre at Chesterfield Royal Hospital identified that deaf patients with cancer lacked appropriate information and support despite seeing many healthcare professionals. To address this, a cancer information event for deaf patients was developed based on the specific needs of this group, supported by BSL interpreters. This article describes the event and discusses the evaluation, which suggests that the event improved the group members’ understanding of information about cancer and general health.