A COUNTY charity is celebrating 20 years of helping people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Deaf Direct, which is based in Lowesmoor, Worcester, held a conference aimed at health and social care professionals called Access Denied last week.

The conference informed them about the difficulties faced by those who are deaf or hard of hearing when accessing their services.

The conference was also a chance to celebrate the charity's 20th anniversary.

Presentations were given by staff members about the issues faced by their service users and Healthwatch Worcestershire presented figures from their survey conducted with GP surgeries about their deaf patients.

Of the 28 responses received from 68 surgeries, only 14 had visual displays to let people know it was their turn.

Victoria Carrabin, communication manager at Deaf Direct, said: “Small changes to services can make a huge difference for deaf and hard of hearing people. Something as simple as facing the person when you are talking to them, and ensuring your face is well lit will help them to understand you better if they are relying on lip-reading.”

According to Deaf Direct, 64,000 people in Worcestershire aged 18 and over suffer with hearing loss.

Deaf Direct provides deaf awareness training to organisations to help improve access for people with hearing impairments.

The conference, which was attended by the Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Alan Amos, also heard from people who suffer from hearing impairments about their experiences.

Training development coordinator, Anita Lowe, said: “Hearing loss is very isolating and affects every part of a person’s life. People who attend the training sessions learn about simple tactics that can make their services much easier to access. The feedback we receive about our sessions is excellent.”

To find out more about the service, visit www.deafdirect.org.uk/contact-us, email info@deafdirect.org.uk or call 01905 746301.