Deaf patients say it can be difficult to communicate at hospitals

Deaf patients are too often unable to communicate with doctors or hospital staff because of a lack of translation services — which can be daunting, and frightening, when dealing with medical care and life-and-death situations, according to advocates for the hearing impaired. The Governor's Office of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing in Maryland is working with hospitals to improve sign language interpreting services and looking at establishing regulations to ensure that only qualified and perhaps licensed interpreters are used. While federal disability law requires hospitals to provide translation services for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, advocates say the services hospitals provide are sometimes inadequate. They complain that translators are not provided consistently or don't stay through entire visits.