About

This guide provides information to assist and support health care practitioners caring for Deaf patients and patients with significant hearing loss (SHL), particularly in palliative care contexts.

Approximately 5% of the Irish population are Deaf or have hearing impairment to any extent (CSO 2022). The Deaf community considers itself as a linguistic and cultural minority, and many Deaf people refer to themselves as being members of Deaf Culture—a linguistic minority that uses sign language as its primary mode of communication. Deaf Culture has its own unique values and ways of interacting.

Irish Sign Language is the first and/or preferred language of 5000 Deaf people in Ireland and approximately 40,000 people in general will communicate in ISL (family, friends, co-workers, etc). ISL  is a visual, spatial language with its own distinct grammar. Sign Language is not the absence of spoken English and is not only a language of the hands but also of the face and body. As a result, ISL interpreters are a distinct group of interpreters.

The Irish Sign Language Act 2017[1] recognises the linguistic rights of Irish Sign Language users and the duty on all public bodies to provide Irish Sign Language users with free interpretation when engaging with statutory entitlements and services.

Patients with significant hearing loss (SHL) will not generally be ISL users and their hearing difficulties may not be immediately apparent. There are, however, considerable numbers of people with SHL, and health care environments can be difficult for this patient group

All information is supplied in good faith and no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies.

Please email any comments or suggestions to info@aiihpc.org

[1] https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2017/act/40/enacted/en/html