Case study: Supporting a Deaf Romanian Woman in Crisis
During a routine visit to a Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) site to offer health checks and vaccinations, the Equity team met a 39 year old deaf Romanian woman needing support to register with the GP.
She had only been deaf for two years, meaning she had never had the opportunity to learn sign language. She had recently lost her job and only knew one person on the GRT site. She was also unable to communicate effectively and unfamiliar with the NHS system. With no support network and no means of explaining her needs, she was vulnerable and struggling to survive.
What we did
- Initial contact: Following our first contact, our Health Advocate followed up to support registration with a GP via text; in her response, she indicated she was very unwell and felt like she was near to collapse. We arranged an emergency visit with our Community Nurse and, on arrival, realised that she needed urgent assistance.
- Emergency support: The Equity Team called an ambulance and accompanied her to the hospital, ensuring she felt safe and understood.
- Hospital advocacy: Our presence was crucial, as hospital staff could not communicate with her. Our Equity nurse translated key documents via a translation app to give to the hospital and our Advocate helped facilitate her admission for a suspected severe brain bleed.
- Preventing homelessness: The Equity Team ensured the hospital referred her to homelessness support before discharge, preventing her from being left without shelter.
- Immediate needs support: Upon discharge to temporary hotel accommodation (with no food or money), the Equity Team sourced emergency food and cooking equipment from a local food bank.
- Securing financial support: The Equity Team contacted the council, resulting in the allocation of a case-worker. Whilst awaiting her Universal Credit decision (which took two months), we arranged ongoing food aid.
- Facilitating independence: The Equity Team assisted her in getting a hearing test and securing a travel card, allowing her to attend medical appointments with our support until she felt confident to attend independently.
- Long-Term housing and disability support: After three months in unstable accommodation, she was moved to a women’s centre, where the Equity Team continued to provide guidance on medical needs. The Centre also agreed to attend medical appointments with her.
- Accessing healthcare for hearing loss: The Equity Team arranged her referral to Guy’s Hospital to assess the possibility of cochlear implants and now the Centre are working directly with the patient to support follow-up appointments.
Impact
The Equity Team’s advocacy was pivotal in ensuring this vulnerable woman accessed the essential support she needed. Without our intervention, she would have been unable to navigate the complex healthcare, housing and welfare systems alone.
We directly facilitated:
- Safe hospital admission and diagnosis
- Protection from homelessness upon discharge
- Access to emergency food and financial support
- Long-term welfare and disability benefit applications
- Opportunity for future hearing restoration through medical referrals
Beyond practical support, she has developed growing confidence in seeking help and making decisions, knowing she has a trusted team advocating for her best interests. By feeling supported, she has opened up about her most personal struggles, allowing us to connect her with the right services and give her hope for a stable future.
As she had no formal way to communicate, the Equity Team spent significant time helping her adapt to using a digital translation service as a tool to express her needs. This became a crucial lifeline for her and we ensured that every service she was referred to understood the importance of using this method when interacting with her. By demonstrating how to communicate with her effectively, we empowered her to engage independently with key services, reducing her isolation and increasing her ability to advocate for herself.
This approach was instrumental in building her trust in other professionals and organisations, especially as the hospital is now booking Romanian interpreters for her appointments, giving her greater confidence and speeding up appointments and follow-up communications.
In her own words
“Without you and your service, I would be dead because no one would have found me in my sickness and fear. Although I’m in a different place now, I can still keep in contact with you all. Thank you.”
She also expressed her confidence in continuing her journey with the right communication support, saying:
“If they communicate with me how you do it, then I’ll be able to continue.”
