Hire nurses skilled in sign language, Association says

An association has challenged the Health department to increase the number of nurses skilled in sign language interpretation.

Persons With Disability Network said there was need to train more personnel in the communication skill to help save lives of hundreds of patients with hearing impairment.

“We have expressed the need to have sign language interpreters among the nurses and are therefore asking the government to train more personnel in this communications skill,” said the network’s representative, Dominic Oguda.

He said none of the hospitals across the county had sign language interpreters, adding this was hampering communication.

Chief Nursing Officer Joshua Ondiege said the county had only one nurse with sign language interpretation skills.

“We have a total of 514 nurses in the whole county but only one is skilled in sign language. He is based at the county’s referral hospital at the outpatient department,” he said.