Raising Deaf Awareness: Working as a Deaf Carer

During Deaf Awareness Month Nurseplus have been working with all our staff to raise awareness and funds for Sense. We have particularly focused on ways we can make daily communication and interactions easier for people who live with hearing impairments or deafness in care.

So far we have run successful Sign Language Workshops where we taught our staff simple but useful phrases and words that can help them communicate with deaf people day-to-day, we have also put our lessons into practice out and about in care settings.

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We’d like to share something we think really highlights the misconceptions and public perceptions we have surrounding deafness. Here’s a word from a member of our campaign team.

“We initially reached out to Anne-Marie to find out more about how she communicates using sign language and asked her if she thought more people should know sign language. Much to our surprise, Anne-Marie doesn’t use sign language to communicate!

This just goes to show how little we know, or understand, about the daily lives of deaf people and the different ways in which they choose to interact with others"

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Today we will be chatting with Anne-Marie, who is one of our Care at home care staff members who has been living and working with a hearing impairment her whole life. Here is what she had to say:

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“I lost my hearing when I was two and a half years old in both ears and so have been living with a hearing impairment my whole life. Since I am almost fully deaf in both ears I struggle to hear the TV, music which I love, and a group chat can be challenging as I cannot always catch everything that is being discussed.

In 2022, my hearing deteriorated further, which prevents me from wearing my hearing aid. Although this has made things more challenging I have learned to lip read whilst at work. This is one of the ways I have overcome the challenges of deafness, and as I am a positive person I simply get on with things and work through it. "

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"As a home carer I am lucky to be familiar with my clients, they know of my hearing impairments and we work together to make our interactions easier. It can be challenging for me if someone I am caring for or working with mumbles, or slurs their speech, but I can take steps to be sure I understand these people by asking them to repeat themselves.

Working as a deaf carer can have its challenges as some clients may have alarms or lifelines they can accidentally press in their homes. If they are pressed I cannot always hear them, so instead I regularly put my hand across speakers to feel the vibrations of the sound instead."

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"Before working in care I had various jobs in hospitals, hotels, shops and offices which have been quite a challenge as the employer has not always provided support or made their working environments accessible for deaf people. Although recently I believe resources for employers to make workplaces accessible for everyone have changed for the better."

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"Nurseplus have always understood the limitations my hearing impairment can present. The local branch team I work with in Nurseplus Southampton have ensured I am always supported with whatever I need to ensure my deafness does not effect my ability to provide excellent care to my clients.

From the moment I started at Nurseplus they had made arrangements for the trainer to adjust their sessions, to make sure I received the same tuition as my fellow carers. This kind of care really made me feel welcomed and gave me a positive feeling that I would be working with a caring and inclusive company.”

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Anne-Marie was recently named Care Line Live’s Star Carer. She was nominated by herBranch Manager, Siân Hurst, because of the exceptional work she does with all her clients and for always going the extra mile.

We asked Siân to share her experiences working with Anne-Marie, and how she and her team find care settings where Anne-Marie can feel comfortable to deliver the excellent care she is capable of.

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“Anne-Marie has worked with the same clients for a number of years, all of whom understand the importance of facing her to communicate, or speaking clearly and slowly. Anne-Marie always adapts well when she is given new clients and makes sure she studies the care plan carefully and requests clarity if required."

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"As a team we ensure the clients Anne-Marie cares for are always informed of her hearing issues. This means that Anne-Marie’s deafness isn’t a surprise to them and they have prior knowledge of how they plan to work together. By setting this expectations things are made easier for Anne-Marie and it never takes long for her to build lasting relationships with clients."

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"When Anne-Marie has approached the team with struggles in the past we have made sure she feels safe to be open with the team and will always be honest about any issues she is finding difficult. In these instances the team will ask her to come into branch and will spend some time talking through her issues and work on resolving them together."

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"Our main channel of communication with Anne-Marie is via WhatsApp messages, and the team make sure they never pair Anne-Marie with clients that aren’t a good fit for her. As we constantly aim to provide training for our carers, we ensure Anne-Marie’s sessions are adapted to her hearing impairments and make sure she has access to extra support if and when it is required."

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"I am confident that Nurseplus is a fully inclusive workplace that really doesn’t discriminate against anyone. We will always look at a person’s ability to do the work, and make the necessary adjustments they need to support to them and help them complete their work successfully.

It’s a pleasure to work with someone like Anne-Marie who is a constantly positive person who really just wants to do her job to the very best of her ability. As long as Anne-Marie wants to work in care, we will be here to help her do that.”

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Our Deaf Awareness Campaign has taught us so much about the different ways in which we can get better at effectively communicating with everyone we care for and work with. We will be continuing to raise funds and awareness for Sense throughout May and you can help us by donating just £2 here:

Donate £2 Sense