A NEW video call centre has been launched to help the hearing-impaired and deaf individuals communicate with medical professionals.
The initiative by the Bahrain Deaf Society (BDS) is aimed at providing deaf individuals and medical workers virtual access to a sign language interpreter at the click of a button.
“This is a very unique initiative that aims to make the lives of hearing-impaired individuals easier,” Supreme Council of Health chairman Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa told the GDN.
The centre is being piloted with two bilingual sign language translators who will be available for 12 hours every day.
The society hopes to extend the service to 24 hours a day in the long term, said BDS president Hasan Al Gharifi.
Currently, the service will be available from 7.30am to 3.30pm, and 4pm to 8pm.
“The service is timed to match the opening hours of most health centres,” said Mr Gharifi.
“In case of emergencies outside of these hours, individuals can contact translators or interpreters directly; hopefully, in the future, we will be able to expand to a 24-hour service.”
The service can be availed by contacting and placing a WhatsApp video call to 37239239.
When deaf individuals have a doctor’s appointment, either in-person or virtually, the doctor or the deaf individual can request an interpreter, who would be available through a video call.
“All the translators are Bahraini and bilingual,” said Dr Shaikh Mohammed.
According to the BDS, there are only 10 fully-qualified interpreters on the island, who can assist the 280 members registered with the society.
To train a new interpreter, each Arabic speaker has to go through a six-month programme to learn Arabic sign language.
A BDS spokesperson had previously told the GDN that only a handful of doctors in the country are trained in sign language, which can pose a host of challenges for the hearing impaired from simple things like knowing when their name is called at the health centre to communicating their symptoms to the doctor.
There are approximately 1,850 individuals who identify as deaf or struggling with hearing disabilities, according to the Labour and Social Development Ministry.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought the issue to the forefront, where deaf individuals were unable to communicate serious symptoms with doctors and medical staff, who are not trained in Arabic sign language.
The new centre is a collaboration between the Primary Healthcare centres and Zain Bahrain.
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