Deaf patient not aware of what they were consenting to
Summary
The GP practice did not identify or act on a patient’s communication needs in line with national standards. This led to the patient being given a vaccine she had not consented to leading to side effects that were not clearly explained.
The complaint
In October 2022, Samantha went to a pre-booked appointment at a doctor’s surgery in Northamptonshire for her flu vaccination. Samantha’s first language is British Sign Language (BSL). There were no BSL interpreters at the appointment. Samantha had travelled to the appointment with her grandmother.
Samantha said she typed ‘flu jab only’ into her phone and showed it to the Practice when they tried to communicate with her. Samantha had a different appointment booked for her COVID-19 vaccine a few weeks later. She said she was not asked any clinical screening questions or warned about the side effects of the vaccine. She said she did not know that it was the COVID-19 vaccine that was then given to her.
Samantha said she had side effects from the vaccine and was shocked to find out she had been given the COVID-19 vaccine without consenting to it. She said the incident also affected her sleep.
‘Sadly this experience has had a profound impact on my emotional wellbeing, and I have completely lost trust and confidence in having any type of injection. In the past, I would confidently attend blood tests or any procedures involving injections, but now I feel very nervous and anxious.’ - Samantha
What we found
We found that the Practice did not know what vaccine Samantha had booked the appointment for, so the nurse asked her which injection she wanted. It said Samantha had not requested an interpreter and that it used other ways to communicate with her. This included the nurse removing their mask so Samantha could lip read if required.
The Practice believed it correctly established Samantha wanted the COVID-19 vaccine and got her consent through her grandmother. Samantha said her grandmother has early-stage dementia and did not come with her into the treatment room.
Our adviser said it was not appropriate for the nurse to communicate to a patient’s relative instead of using a qualified BSL interpreter. There was no way to know if Samantha’s grandmother was a qualified translator.
NHS England advises that a BSL COVID-19 vaccination consent video is available if an interpreter cannot be present in these situations. There is no record that Samantha was given the opportunity to watch this video.
Putting things right
We recommended the Practice should apologise and pay £450 to Samantha to recognise the distress she experienced. We also recommended it should introduce service improvements in line with the NHS England accessibility guidance.
Following our investigation, the Practice now has a contract with a sign language interpreting company and displays posters in the surgery with information on services available for patients with impairments.