Ambulance Victoria (AV) paramedics will be better equipped to provide high quality care to Deaf and hard of hearing patients, with the introduction of basic Auslan and Deaf awareness training.
AV has rolled out the training to all staff and volunteers as part of a joint partnership between AV and Awesome Auslan.
AV Disability Inclusion Program Lead, Amber Smith said the training provides knowledge and skills to the workforce to help remove communication barriers experienced by the Deaf and hard of hearing community in a health emergency.
"Building Deaf awareness will also help us to create a safe, fair and inclusive workplace for AV's Deaf and hard of hearing workforce and improve how we engage in an accessible way with the community," she said.
"Auslan is the language of the Deaf community in Australia, and it is important we build our understanding of Deaf culture and remove communication barriers in both the workplace and patient care.
Paramedic Jenna Kelley has been learning Auslan for several years and has been advocating for the introduction of Deaf awareness and Auslan training through her understanding of how learning a few signs can assist in an emergency.
"Situations where you need help from a paramedic can be extremely stressful," she said.
"Patients are central to every decision made about their care and to do that we need to remove as many communication barriers as possible."
Blake Willaton with Paramedic Dave Walton
One in six Australians experience varying degrees of complete and partial hearing loss, which is predicted to increase to one in four by 2050.
AV is providing staff with a free self-paced online Auslan and Deaf awareness course. Participating staff will wear a "Learning Auslan" badge to identify their training and capability to the community.
Sunbury mother, Rosie Willaton has been advocating for emergency service workers to learn some basic sign language after her son, Blake, required emergency care from paramedics in 2020.
When a nurse started communicating with Blake through sign language, Rosie said it made the world of difference and created a more positive experience for him.
"It would have been great if the paramedics at that time were able to communicate with Blake on his level using some sign," she said.
"It's going to make a world of difference to people like Blake knowing that paramedics are going to be able to have some basic sign."
Ambulance Victoria is committed to removing communication barriers to create an accessible and inclusive emergency health care service for all Victorians.
AV continues to work with other partners such as Scope, Amaze and Expressions Australia to find ways to implement new initiatives to meet people's communication preferences.
