A HEALTH trust has apologised and paid damages to the family of a profoundly deaf man after failing to provide a sign language interpreter while he was in their care with a terminal illness.
The Equality Commission brought a case on behalf of the Carson family, from Belfast, against the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust under the Disability Discrimination Act.
Thomas Carson died in November 2016 aged 79. He had been treated in the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald.
Mr Carson's daughter, Jillian Shanks said: "My father was taken ill quite suddenly and, because the hospital did not provide a sign language interpreter, I had to communicate the news to him that his condition was terminal and he was going to die.
"That was very distressing - for him, for myself and for my mother, who is also deaf and was with him throughout."
Ms Shanks added: "As a family it was inevitably a most difficult time, but the lack of this key support made it worse. At one stage a picture board was used to try and communicate with my father – that was humiliating and simply not appropriate in the circumstances."
By not providing an interpreter the trust did not act on its own policy on access to such services.
The family was awarded £7,000 in damages.
Anne McKernan, from the Equality Commission, said: "The Trust's failure to implement the policies they already had in place meant that an additional degree of unnecessary distress and hurt was caused to this family. It could and should have been avoided.
"In Northern Ireland around 2,500 deaf people use British Sign Language and over four thousand people communicate through it."
According to the Equality Commission, the trust has made the payment without admission of liability.
A spokeswoman for the trust said: "The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust welcomed the opportunity to meet with and apologise directly to the Carson Family in December 2017 for the upset and distress they experienced through not having an available interpreter.
"The trust is grateful that the Carson family accepted the apology and that this case was brought to a satisfactory conclusion.
"Following the settlement, the trust met with the Equality Commission and discussed ongoing training and an awareness raising strategy for staff with regard to accessing interpreters."
