TWENTY-FIVE Chitungwiza Central Hospital health professionals are undergoing a two-week long training on sign language to reduce communication challenges they face when dealing with deaf and dumb patients.
By Staff Reporter
Chitungwiza hospital spokesperson Audrey Tasaranarwo said the staff members were finding it difficult to communicate with patients who could not speak and those with hearing problems.
Training started on Monday.
“It has been realised that there is a communication breakdown between the deaf and dumb patients and the nurses hence this training,” Tasaranarwo said.
“We took 25 professionals from different departments at the hospital and they are being trained how to communicate using sign language with the patients.” She said sisters-in-charge and other nurses would also undertake similar training soon.
“This will help the deaf and dumb patients to be given proper medication,” Tasaranarwo said.
“There are dangers that a patient can be given wrong medication as the nurse at times will not be able to understand what the patient is saying, so this is a good move.”
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She said there were difficulties in communicating with the patients, but all methods were being tried to address the situation.
“At the hospital, we were trying to communicate with them through writing, but the challenge also arose with some of the patients who were not able to write and that is where we had a problem,” Tasaranarwo said.
According to the National Association for the Care of the Handicapped, there were at least 500 000 people in the country who were either deaf or dumb or both.
