"Access for Deaf"

I came in to BCH at Wonthaggi Hospital for a speech therapy consult. Hannah the speech therapist and her student fellow Jessica were really really good, making me feel safe when the interpreter failed to turn up in person. So Hannah quickly organised a video relay with another interpreter, using Zoom. That was great but this is where the issue is that BCH desperately and urgently need to fix now! Zoom interpreting was difficult because of glitchy internet connection for video interpreting at Bass Coast Health. I feel this is not good access for Deaf people.

Why should we be subjected to low quality support when I feel that your hearing patients get better support than Deaf? Deaf people are not less than hearing people and I am fed up with being made to feel less important with our needs. We have needs that are as important as other people with disabilities. Deaf people may not have stood up previously in the past to say what they need or how they feel (believe me, it seems to me that many of them including me feel very angry and frustrated!!!) because they do not know how to communicate. I am able to communicate here to explain how angry I feel at the lack of good internet service BCH and Medical clinics have here! I feel it is embarrassing for BCH and Victorian health to be, what I believe is, this low quality especially when they have many Deaf patients! We have as much right to access our health and right to have our needs met and respected as much as others. Please, based on my experience, have the whole internet infrastructure upgraded ASAP and use a better internet provider and pay a bit more would be great for this. We are not a cost, I feel we should be seen as an investment and worth investing in for better access and health. I am sick of being seen as a ‘cost’ when I know I am not! In my opinion, many deaf people should never ever be seen as a cost. I feel this is audism, and many audists attitudes say we dont have as much right to access our needs, which I feel is very very wrong, very similar to abelism. So please fix up the internet to a much better high quality and fast service so we can use it for our video interpreters for Deaf clients like me. As I believe many interpreters will not drive all the way out to Wonthaggi from Melbourne!!! It seems there are none close by and many refuse to drive out, so we have the video relaying option for them and us.

On another note, please get the car parking upgraded!!! I spent a half hour trying to get car parking!!! I feel that made me late for my appointment. Based on my experience, put an undercover carpark in with multi levels, this is what we need.