A teenage boy was used by NHS staff to tell his deaf mother that her father might die overnight, an investigation has found.
After being diagnosed with heart failure in June 2021, Alan Graham, 75, returned to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in September, with symptoms including swelling in his legs and chest pain. He died two weeks later.
On the night before he died, 16-year-old Connor Petty was asked by NHS staff to tell his mother, Jennifer Graham-Petty, who was born deaf and uses British Sign Language (BSL), that his grandfather could pass away overnight.
The boy was also asked to tell Ms Graham-Petty that medics thought CPR should not be provided if the need arose.
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has since apologised to the family and said it had “implemented learning actions across the organisation”.
Speaking to the Press Association news agency, Ms Graham-Petty said that the experience was “very upsetting” and that she had asked for an interpreter “every day” her father was in hospital.
“My children just wanted to visit their granddad and be there for him as family members, but they were constantly being asked to translate by the staff”, she added.
“While they know some BSL, they are hearing so it is not their first language, and they don’t have the same level of knowledge as a professional to interpret the medical jargon that staff were asking them to.
“Having to deliver the bad news about my dad’s prognosis was totally unacceptable and very upsetting for all of us.”
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Ms Graham-Petty also told the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) that her daughter Mia, who was 12 at the time, was also asked to translate.
A report from the PHSO found that the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust failed to comply with national guidance.
It added that in the 11 weeks Mr Graham was in hospital, Ms Graham-Petty only had professional interpreters three times.
Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive at the PHSO, said the NHS trust caused “unnecessary distress” and that “deaf patients and their families should have access to the same healthcare as everyone else without facing additional barriers”.
The ombudsman has called on the trust to apologise to the family and pay Mr Graham’s daughter and grandchildren compensation.
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A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham said: “We offer our sincere apologies to Jennifer, Connor and Mia for their experience, at what was a very difficult time for them.
“We recognise that we did not get things right and understand the impact this had on them.
“We have taken this feedback seriously and, since 2021, implemented learning actions across the organisation to help improve the experience of our deaf patients and their families, including strengthening awareness and accessibility arrangements to ensure patients’ communication needs are better met.
“We remain committed to learning from this and to providing inclusive, compassionate care for all our patients.”
