A deaf woman and her mother have called for changes to be made to the patient transfer escort system.

Allison Dawson, 46, from Douglas, said her experience of travelling to UK hospitals alone had left her not wanting to go again and that the struggle of deaf people isn’t recognised.

Ms Dawson told the Examiner about some of the difficulties she has faced, including a UK taxi company trying to ring her because it hadn’t been informed she is deaf.

She shared a letter sent to her mother which outlined that she was not entitled to an escort for hospital trips because she is ’capable of navigating the shops, hospitals, airports, without the need for a chaperone’.

The letter came from John Coleman, who was interim director of hospitals, after Ms Dawson’s mother, Val Squires made a formal complaint about the treatment her daughter had received.

Mr Coleman said that a patient transfer clinical assessor had carried out an assessment of Ms Dawson.

However, in a letter to the hospital, Ms Dawson questioned how this judgement was made and questioned if they ’have the qualifications or knowing of what goes on in deaf people’s lives’?

She referred to her own experience of being able to go to shops where she knows staff or her family can ’be my ears’ but also noted that she has been hit by cars twice because of her deafness.

The decision being made by a patient transfer clincial assessor was also questioned by Ms Squires because she believed a patient’s consultant is the one who can make that decision.

This was confirmed to the Examiner by Minister for Health and Social Care David Ashford who said ’it is the consultant overseeing the patient’s care who decides whether or not the patient requires an escort’.

Mr Ashford added: ’They are the medical professional with responsibility for the persons care and therefore in a position to decide if the person can travel unaided or requires help and support.

’When a patient is being sent off-island for treatment and an escort is required the consultant completes and signs a transport certificate authorising the escort.

’This is then passed to the patient transfer office for processing.

’Any such authorisation must come from the patient’s consultant as the patient transfer office are not in a position to assess the medical needs of the patient.’

Ms Dawson and her mother said that while the service has been far from perfect, they support Mr Ashford both as their MHK and as minister and they were happy to have been told Ms Squires can accompany her daughter to her appointment next month.