Legal News

Members of the London Assembly have visited a specialist mental health service in Tooting, southwest London, offering services to those who are deaf.

Springfield University Hospital provides specialist services for deaf adults and children with mental health needs.

The hospital offers assessments, treatment and interventions for a full range of mental illnesses to adults with severe or profound hearing loss.

The hospital is also the base for the National Deaf Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

The London Assembly Health Committee is investigating mental health and how marginalised groups in London – including those with deafness – access mental health services.

The committee visited wards and met with staff and service users at Springfield University Hospital, to discuss the difficulties which adults and children who are deaf have faced in accessing mental health care.

Assembly Members also saw how Springfield University Hospital has adapted its services to support those who are deaf – and discussed improvements service users would like to see made to health services in the future.

Research shows that people who are deaf are more likely to experience poor mental health than the wider population – however, they face additional barriers accessing appropriate support and care, including a lack of accessible information and a shortage of trained interpreters and signing staff.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and can advise mental health patients on a wide range of issues – including access to NHS mental health services and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors regularly visit NHS hospitals to advise on mental health law – and are available across England and Wales at short notice for hospital and police station appointments.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may be able to advise the nearest relative or carer of a mental health patient on a range of issues, including initiating treatment reviews where appropriate.

For expert legal advice on mental health law, call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 020 3114 1124.