Sex Offences Claim At School For Deaf Children

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Sex Offences Claim At School For Deaf Children

VIDEO - Sex offences claim at Donaldson's school for Deaf children in Scotland.



LINLITHGOW - Police are looking into claims sexual offences were carried out at the national school for Deaf children.



Donaldson's School in Linlithgow has been given a week to come up with a plan to deal with serious concerns about the way the school is being run.



Police are also assessing allegations. It is understood they relate to claims of serious sexual offences and how some people at the school responded to them. The school said it was unable to comment at this time.



A spokesperson said: "This is a sensitive matter and with internal investigations ongoing, we are unable to comment on the names, job titles or any other specifics of this case".

BBC Scotland understands some allegations are historical in nature.



Insufficient progress: Donaldson's is a grant-aided special school (GASS) supported by the Scottish government.



Local authorities from all over Scotland and the north of England refer pupils there and fund their placements. The notice calling for an improvement plan within a week is the first of its kind to be issued for 15 years.



A report from Education Scotland last year criticised leadership at the school - and a follow up report said insufficient progress was being made putting things right.



The school has stressed its first priority is always the safety and wellbeing of pupils and a new principal was recently appointed. Work is underway to come up with the improvement plan before the deadline. Source

Changing The Way Deaf People Bank

Friday, September 13, 2013

Changing The Way Deaf People Bank

VIDEO [ASL/CC] - Your bank. Changing the way Deaf people bank from SignVideo.



John runs a conservation wildlife park in Scotland. In this video he tells us how, as a Deaf customer, going into a bank used to be a stressful and at times embarrassing experience. He explains how using the SignVideo link to speak to an interpreter online makes a massive difference. Today he can speak with the bank independently, privately and without any of the stress that was previously attached.

Our customers have always given us the best ideas, so we've launched Your Bank, a new online community where you can share your ideas. If you've got an idea, share it at www.yourbank.barclays.co.uk



You can find the full article on Sign Video at https://www.yourbank.barclays.co.uk/t5/Your-ideas-brought-to-life/Sign-Video-Changing-the-way-deaf-people-bank/ba-p/810.

Deaf Scottish Yachtsman Receives Hero's Welcome

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Deaf Scottish Yachtsman Receives Hero's Welcome

VIDEO: Deaf sailor receives hero's welcome. The first Deaf person to have sailed single-handed around the world, passing all five capes, has returned home to a hero's welcome.



SOUTH AYRSHIRE, SCOTLAND - Gerry Hughes, 55, fulfilled his boyhood dream of sailing past the capes, racking up 32,000 miles on an eight-month voyage.



Hundreds of members of the Deaf community turned out at Troon harbour in South Ayrshire to congratulate the father-of-two, who was born without hearing.



The teacher, from Glasgow, is one of around 300 people to have completed the feat, joining a list of successful solo-circumnavigators which includes Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Sir Frances Chichester.



After hugging his tearful wife Kay, 47, on his arrival, he swapped the champagne popped in his honour for a pint of his favourite Guinness.

He spoke of a great sense of achievement, having fulfilled an ambition he has had since he was 14.



Stormy weather often created tough sailing conditions, causing him to capsize at one stage. But he cited problems with electronic equipment, not his lack of hearing, as the biggest challenge of the trip.



Speaking through a sign language interpreter, he said: "Being Deaf, the only thing I didn't have was the VHF radio contact. I feel vibrations. That's how the boat communicates with me. I'd be asleep and I knew that winds were coming. Other people can hear those things but I was able to compensate in that way. ...READ MORE: http://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2013/05/08/deaf-sailor-receives-heros-welcome/, Visit http://www.gerrysmhughes.com for more information.



Related Post: Scottish Yachtsman Become The First Deaf Person To Sail Non Stop Around The World

Deaf Patient Denied Interpreter By Scottish Hospital

Friday, March 29, 2013

Deaf Patient Denied Interpreter By Scottish Hospital

Deaf patient left unable to communicate with hospital staff for 12 days after staff failed to provide sign language expert.



DUNDEE - A Deaf patient was left isolated and unable to communicate for 12 days in Ninewells Hospital because of a failure to provide her with access to a sign language interpreter, according to a report by Scotland’s public services watchdog.



The female patient who had been admitted to Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital for surgery to have her appendix removed had a very limited lip reading ability and did not have a good understanding of written English.



And it was “impossible to say” with any certainty whether the deaf patient had given informed consent for the surgery,



Jim Martin, the Scottish public services ombudsman, has ruled that NHS Tayside failed to adhere to the board’s informed consent policy and found that the failure to obtain a sign language interpreter for the patient was “unacceptable”.



He states in his report that a complaint had been raised on behalf of the patient, known as Ms A, that the board failed to provide a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter during her 12-day stay at Ninewells where she had been admitted for surgery to remove her appendix.



Ms A was a BSL user with very limited lip-reading ability. She did not use verbal communication and did not have a good understanding of written English.



Mr Martin states: “Although hospital staff took steps to try to communicate with Ms A, at no point did they provide an interpreter. This was despite Ms A repeatedly pointing to a poster on the wall, which was for interpreter services, and handing staff a BSL interpreter’s card on two separate occasions.”



He continues: “In the course of my investigation I took independent advice from my equality and diversity adviser and a medical adviser. The equality adviser said that staff had not taken reasonable and appropriate steps to obtain a BSL interpreter for Ms A in line with their legal duty to do so under section 20 of the Equality Act 2010. She said that once they had been alerted to Ms A’s need for a BSL interpreter, a clear plan should have been drawn up to try to coordinate the availability of doctors and others communicating with Ms A and a BSL interpreter, sufficiently trained to be able to communicate complex medical issues.” ...READ MORE: http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/deaf-patient-denied-interpreter-by-dundee-hospital-1-2862772



Related Article:

The Limping Chicken - Deaf News: Deaf patient in Scottish hospital left without an interpreter for twelve days