Trevor Borthwick-Hare, who is the Communication and Translation Specialist at Cygnet Hospital Bury, which offers a range of mental health services for deaf people, shares his story as part of Deaf Awareness Week.
Trevor, who communicates via British Sign Language, explained: “I was born profoundly deaf, this is a genetic, inherited condition as both my parents, brother and sister were all deaf.
“I have two hearing aids to support me the noise backgrounds and have good lip-reading skills to the point I can engage in conversation with anybody.”
“There are a lot of misconceptions regarding lip reading, that it is easy, but it isn’t. People often cover their mouth, talk while their mouth is full or exaggerate their lip pattern, all these things and more make lip reading very difficult. If I haven’t caught the beginning of the conversation then I can’t get the gist of what I am trying to lip read. Trying to lip read jargon such as medical jargon is even more difficult.”
Before he started working at Cygnet Hospital Bury, Trevor had other jobs including as a Shoe Finisher, Joiner, Lathe Engineer, Paint Sprayer, Spot Welder and Forklift Instructor.
In 1988 he became a Leeds University Lecturer for deaf students learning Information Technology and later became a Communication Support Technician and Trainee Deaf Instructor with Leeds Council Education Department. He was also employed as a Deaf Instructor/Senior Deaf Instructor with Calderdale Education Department between 1995 and 2003 and became a full time Communication and Translation Specialist in September 2003.
His work experiences also being a freelance relay interpreter in courts, solicitor and police interviews until 2010.
He said: “I have gained a lot of experiences and training opportunities throughout my current career.
“But far and away the most rewarding job I have done is helping men and women struggling with their mental health access the support they need and deserve.”
Cygnet provides highly specialised services for men and women who are Deaf or hard of hearing and who have complex mental health needs including mental illness, personality disorder, autism spectrum disorder or learning disability.
Its specialist Deaf services provide expertise and resources to enable service users with complex communication needs who may have a mental illness, learning disability or personality disorder to participate safely and as fully as possible in their care and achieve outcomes to support their discharge from the hospital.
Trevor, who attended the Elmete Hall School for the Deaf in Leeds before studying at Durham University, said: “The biggest challenge of being deaf is experiencing the barriers to inclusion and equality.
“Being deaf is normal to me, it is all I have ever known. So all of my experiences of deafness are positive. In fact, the biggest misconception is that deaf people are not proud to be deaf. That deaf people want to be cured. That deafness should be pitied.
“That isn’t true at all. I am incredibly proud to be deaf. Of course being deaf can bring unique challenges that not everyone will experience but it should also be celebrated and every person needs to be valued.”
“I am lucky compared to many other deaf people in that I work for Cygnet Health Care which employs a number of deaf professionals as we have a highly specialist mental health and deafness service. Cygnet has an in- house British Sign Language interpreter service which supports staff and patients to have full access to information and health care. Importantly, Cygnet also provides deaf awareness and BSL classes to all staff that work within deaf services.”
Trevor supports patients at Cygnet Hospital Bury to have access to information so they can participate safely and as fully as possible in their care to achieve outcomes required to be discharged from hospital and continue their care pathway successfully.
He added: “The most fulfilling part of my job is to see how my adaptations are supporting patients with their recovery. I do these to the best of my ability and to the highest standard possible to match their needs.”
Trevor, who has gained City and Guilds qualifications in web design and computing, used his IT skills to create a DVD that he scripted, filmed and edited that has enabled a deaf service user with learning difficulties to make an informed choice about his DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) decision.
“It was a really important project and I worked as part of a team to ensure that the information was clear and accessible and that it met the service user’s communication and cognitive ability.
“It was an exciting project to be part of, it showcased excellent team work.”
Discussing how businesses and the wider society can become more inclusive to the deaf community, Trevor said: “It is really important that employers do not give deaf people any barriers, particularly for promotion and progression. Find out what adjustments you can make to reduce stress and improve wellbeing. They might be small shifts – but they can make a big difference to the deaf community.
“It would be fantastic to see more deaf people as Directors of large organisations, which would hopefully inspire others and make deaf people realise that anything is possible.
“It would also be lovely for many hearing people to learn sign languages that will enable them to communicate with deaf people in the UK. BSL should be in the education curriculum for hearing children to learn. It will help deaf children to communicate with their peers and lead to fewer incidents of bullying in the school and community.”
Trevor also gave advice on how to support deaf people in the community. He said:
“It is important to educate yourself. Many people remain unaware of what life is like for a deaf person and the struggles they face.
“There are several things you can do to improve communication with deaf people. Speak one at a time and don’t speak too slowly or quickly. Smile and relax so they can see nice body language and keep your mouth on show. Speak clearly without shouting and face towards the person while you’re speaking. Repeat if you need to do so.
“It is also important to remember that no two people are the same. Many deaf people have different communication approaches, and some may use combined methods like hearing aids and lipreading. Don’t let worries about saying the wrong thing or approaching the topic stop you from having the conversation altogether.
“Instead, simply ask how they communicate and what you can do to help. This way you’re respecting their needs and finding out what works.”