At the start of the current project, the field team paid a courtesy call to the Hospital Administrator and Director as part of the initial consultations and quest for space and engagement with service providers on access to services by the deaf community. During a follow-up consultative session, the hospital management held a meeting at the offered working space at the outpatient department (OPD) as a strategic location where the project team would be based not only to offer communication support for health workers but also to provide guidance for the deaf patients to access services in all the departments. This was a turning point.
The team stationed a deaf role model at the facility and worked with the DYP and SL interpreter to train other volunteers to organize weekly communication training for health workers and interested duty bearers. A group of 17 participants were able to complete a 3-month training course and 5 of these are regularly on hand to support deaf people who come to the hospital to access services.
During an annual review meeting earlier this year, Mr. Andama, the Hospital Administrator appreciated the special contribution of SignHealth Uganda in popularizing sign language and making people fall in love with sign language.
“I have come to realise that these deaf people just need to be shown love by using their language. I see the smile in their faces whenever a health worker is trying to communicate with them, the little signs they know.”
He recognized the project team’s presence in the hospital as a blessing to the management and when the Ministry of Health visited, they were applauded for being a model of an inclusive hospital in the country.
Many DYP who were afraid of reaching out to health facilities for services like HIV/AIDS testing and other concerns, are now freely reporting to the reception because they know they will find friendly people who know their language. Over 40 DYP were reported to have reached our for different services during the last quarter of the reporting period and the project peer leaders are proud of the linkage with Arua Hospital.