According to the latest statistics from the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the total number of people with disabilities in mainland China has reached 85 million, of which about 20 million are hearing-impaired. Among the hearing-impaired people who seek medical treatment in Fengxian, the reporter learned that a small number of people are accompanied by family members to "translate", and more rely on pen and paper to communicate with doctors, but many expressions are still very difficult. "The inability to explain the condition, and the anxious waiting eyes of patients outside the clinic" make the hearing-impaired feel more stressed when they seek medical treatment.
On the occasion of this year's National Day for the Disabled, Fengxian District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine cooperated with the Fengxian District Disabled Persons' Federation and the District Association of the Deaf to open the first deaf clinic in the district.
May 14 is the first day of the opening of the deaf clinic of Fengxian District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. At about 8 o'clock in the morning, the reporter saw at the scene that the corridor outside the deaf outpatient clinic on the second floor of the outpatient clinic was full of hearing-impaired patients in need. They exchanged sign language and waited for the doctor in an orderly manner.
"Is there anything uncomfortable?" "She said that she woke up all the time when she went to bed at night, had to go to the toilet all the time, urinated frequently at night, and was fine in the morning." The doctor's inquiry is no longer a silent response. The sign language volunteers were like interpreters, and the hearing-impaired patients looked happy and excited, and poured out their discomfort. While listening to the interpreter, the doctor's consultation efficiency has also improved significantly. Less than 1 hour after the clinic opened, Wang Zhenxian, the attending physician of the Department of Internal Medicine, who was present that day, saw more than 10 patients. In the past, Wang Zhenxian has not met hearing-impaired patients. Due to the communication barrier, she can only choose to communicate by hand, but the way of writing is not only inefficient but also time-consuming. "The question is not detailed enough, he can't express it, sometimes he may be in a hurry but can't say it, but if he writes by hand, many specific things can't be expressed clearly, and there are often errors." Wang Zhenxian said frankly that now that she has the guidance of sign language interpreter volunteers, she is also much more relaxed when she encounters special patients: "I feel that the volunteer is very professional in some medical translations, so I use sign language to communicate with patients while asking her, and then give feedback to me, which greatly improves the efficiency of medical treatment." ”
The doctor's worries are also the difficulties of hearing impaired patients. When the reporter communicated with these hearing-impaired patients, Chen Yijia, a sign language interpreter volunteer, told the reporter that for them, the communication barrier that is difficult to overcome makes many middle-aged and elderly hearing-impaired patients more afraid of seeking medical treatment.
A hearing-impaired patient said that he used to see a doctor by writing, but found that there was a misunderstanding, and when he returned home, he found that the disease was not optimistic, and it was more troublesome to see it later. "And because I'm very busy at work, I may be in a hurry to write and write all the time, but if the sign language interpreter is clear, it will be smooth, and the details that the doctor says will also be told to them." He also told reporters that he had been to a hospital in the city before, and there was a special sign language interpreter to help the deaf see a doctor, but because the distance was too far, it was really inconvenient.
"When I was young, I was in good health and didn't feel the need to see a doctor, but now that I'm getting older, there will be more need to see a doctor." There is also a hearing-impaired patient bluntly said that because of the communication barrier, when she is not feeling well, she would rather endure than go to the doctor, although sometimes she can find her own children, relatives to accompany her as an interpreter, but everyone is not always free, and can not always accompany her. Now that there is this deaf clinic here, she is very happy, so she came to see a doctor.
Chen Yijia told reporters that the need for sign language interpretation in the hospital is mainly for older patients, who are basically 40 years old and upward. And many of these hearing-impaired patients have been suffering for 2 to 3 years, and they have endured it because of the difficulty of communication. The feedback that Chen Yijia received from these patients is that now, the deaf clinic is finally available at the doorstep, and the hearing-impaired patients are very happy and more willing to see a doctor.
In addition, the reporter also found at the scene that in addition to internal medicine, many patients at the scene also wanted to see dermatology, surgery, etc., and were waiting for the help of sign language volunteers.
According to the hospital, the deaf clinic is currently opened once a month, mainly for internal medicine patients. Subsequently, the hospital will continue to pay attention to the medical needs of hearing-impaired patients according to the situation on the first day, and further communicate and cooperate with the District Disabled Persons' Federation to help more patients with hearing impairment to seek better medical treatment.