To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when (a) NHS England and (b) NHS Improvement will receive the independent review report from the North East of England Commissioning Support Unit on British Sign Language Interpreting Services within Hospitals.
Answered on
6 October 2022
In November 2020, NHS England commissioned the North of England Commissioning Support Unit to undertake a rapid review of British Sign Language (BSL) service provision in the National Health Service in England. The review was completed in May 2021 and contained 17 recommendations to address the identified health inequalities experienced by BSL users. The report and its recommendations were accepted by NHS England’s National Incident and Response Board on 16 June 2021. NHS England is continuing to work with integrated care systems to implement the recommendations.