A SHOCK report claims deaf people are at risk from their family GP.

Research conducted by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People reveals GPs in the North West are inadvertently risking the lives of deaf or hard of hearing patients because they don't know how to communicate with them.

Bolton Deaf Society believes the problems the deaf or hard of hearing encounter when trying to explain symptoms or illness to their doctor are down to a shortage of trained interpreters.

Gillian Gregory, Manager of Bolton Deaf Society, said: "Unfortunately, the very nature of illness means it cannot be anticipated or predicted.

"This results in many deaf people being unable to get hold of a trained interpreter when they need one because the service in Manchester does not supply interpreters on demand.

"Appointments have to be made, which is all well and good if it's an out-patient appointment, but it doesn't really help if you need to see a doctor that day."

Although many GP receptionist and health centre staff are trained in sign language, there is a shortage of interpreters.

Wigan and Bolton Health Authority has recently invested additional money into the interpreter service which Bolton Deaf Society hopes will increase the number available to people with hearing difficulties within the Bolton area.

The Society offers a service to organisations, companies or groups to highlight the needs of their deaf members and the services available to them to help people with hearing problems.

Bolton Deaf Society on Bark Street currently holds the local authority's register on deafness which shows there are 200 people in Bolton registered deaf and a further 2,000 registered as hard of hearing.

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