Resources available for people who are Deaf and/or use British Sign Language to communicate:
Local Support
Audiology – NHS Shetland – Audiology services and page
Hearing Support Service – Shetland Islands Council – Hearing support in schools
Health and wellbeing – Shetland Islands Council – Occupational Therapy – Assessment and information on hearing loss support
Support for Carers – Shetland Islands Council – Support for carers
Contact Scotland-BSL – Video Relay Service for BSL users
This is Scotland’s national BSL video relay service. Contact Scotland BSL is funded by The Scottish Government to enable full access to make phone calls 24 hours, 7 days a week in British Sign Language.
Primarily, it is designed for any Deaf person to make free calls to any Scottish services. They can also call family, friends, businesses, or services anywhere in the UK. Services etc, can also call back the Deaf person if the Deaf person is registered with Contact Scotland BSL. It is designed to make short calls, for example, to book appointments or inform a test result.
It can be used on a computer, smartphone or tablet using the website or downloading the Contact Scotland BSL App. You can register or make calls anonymously through Contact Scotland BSL Website, however by registering it means you can get a call-back from anyone. You will need a good internet connection to use Contact Scotland BSL, either WiFi or a 3G, 4G or 5G connection. The better connection is, the better quality your call will be.
Access here: Contact Scotland
Understanding health information for BSL users
NHS Inform: Health topics explained (BSL Videos): NHS Inform have pre-recorded videos of a variety of health topics explained in BSL. The topics range from healthy living, illnesses and conditions, immunisations and screenings, mental health, female health and sexual health.
Access here: British Sign Language (BSL) | NHS inform
Prompts before your appointment: It’s OK to Ask | NHS inform
Social support for BSL users
Befriending Service to meet new people: Befriending service – Deaf Action
SEMDC | Scottish Ethnic Minority Deaf Charity
Communication support for parents/carers who have a Deaf child
Auditory Verbal UK: Auditory Verbal therapy, helping with communication support for children.
