The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS


Tribune Staff Reporter


lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A DEAF woman was unable to understand her treatment or communicate with doctors at Princess Margaret Hospital after a car accident, a case advocates say exposes serious gaps in how Deaf patients are treated in the healthcare system more than a decade after the law guaranteed equal access to care and information.

The Bahamas National Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing said the experience of Ginika Gibson highlights “serious ongoing issues in accessibility, communication, and equal treatment,” pointing to what it described as a reliance on next of kin and a failure to respect patient autonomy.

Under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities) Act, people with disabilities are entitled to the same standard of healthcare and access to health information as others, and services must be provided in accessible formats.

The law also requires medical personnel to be adequately trained to treat persons with disabilities and defines discrimination to include the denial of reasonable accommodation, such as necessary communication support. Critics have long lamented the government’s failure to enforce the law effectively, even within its own institutions.

According to the association, Ms Gibson, described as a culturally deaf patient, requested a qualified sign language interpreter during her care, but “interpreter access was restricted and treated as non-essential, with communication routed through next of kin, despite her full capacity as an independent adult.”

“This not only undermined her autonomy but also placed her health and safety at risk as she was unable to communicate with healthcare professionals effectively,” the organisation said.

Interpreter and educator Tamiko Brown, who was called in to assist, said she was initially denied meaningful access to the patient.

“When I got there,” she told The Tribune yesterday, “the head nurse at that time said, what can I help you with? So I said I was the deaf interpreter for Ginika. I said I came to see her and interpret for her, but she said she don’t need you, she understands quite well.”

“If I said that I am an interpreter, that means I came to fend for her, I thought that she should have stood on the side of me so that I can relay and I can communicate with the girl and say, this is what’s going on, she totally ignored me.”

When Ms Brown eventually reached Ms Gibson, she said the patient was in pain, confused, and struggling to understand what was happening, particularly when it came to medication.

“I asked her if she was receiving medication, and she told me no, she had not received any medicine. But the nurse said it was being administered through the IV,” she said.

Ms Brown said Ms Gibson did not understand that medication could be administered intravenously.

“Her impression was that she was not getting any medication, because she had no understanding that it was being administered through the IV,” she said.

“She understands that she is being treated, but she does not understand the format or the way that the medication is being administered.”

Ms Brown said communication was further hindered by staff wearing masks, which made lip-reading impossible.

“A hearing-impaired person cannot lip-read if you have a mask on,” she said. “She told me that when they speak to her, they are wearing masks. So how is she understanding what they are saying if she cannot see their lips?”

She said the most troubling issue was the apparent reliance on Ms Gibson’s mother to make medical decisions, despite Ms Gibson being an adult.

“You cannot tell me that you are going to contact the next of kin and allow them to make decisions for her,” she said. “She is an adult. She has the right to decide what happens to her body.”

Ms Brown said without proper communication, patients cannot give informed consent, raising concerns about their safety.

The BNADHH said the incident reflects a wider systemic failure, warning that reliance on next of kin in place of proper communication can lead to “dangerous reliance on next of kin” and increased risks, including misdiagnosis and improper treatment.

The organisation said access to communication is a fundamental right, not an optional service, and warned that without proper systems, deaf patients are unable to make informed decisions about their care.

It added that the issue extends beyond a single case, noting that between three and five percent of the population is Deaf or Hard of Hearing, meaning thousands of Bahamians face similar barriers.

“In education, Deaf and Hard of Hearing learners face limited access to qualified interpreters and captioning services, inadequate inclusive learning frameworks, and persistent barriers to full academic participation and achievement,” the organisation said.

“These inequities extend into employment and public life. Deaf and Hard of Hearing citizens encounter ongoing barriers to hiring due to communication gaps and discrimination, a lack of workplace accommodations, and underemployment. Within public services, communication systems across government agencies remain largely inaccessible, and concerns raised with various ministries have gone unacknowledged. The result is continued exclusion from essential services, national programs, and opportunities, reinforcing a cycle of inequality that has gone unaddressed for years.”

Ms Brown said the incident has resonated across the Deaf community.

“They always think that we are equal to the hearing. They don’t understand that we are different,” she said.

The BNADHH is calling for reforms, including formal recognition of interpreters as essential in healthcare settings, national funding for interpretation services, enforcement of accessibility laws, and mandatory deaf awareness training for frontline workers.

“Every five years, politicians come to our communities seeking our votes, our support, and our trust. Yet, time and time again, their actions, or lack thereof, demonstrate that Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bahamians are neither respected nor prioritized.

“Our voices are disregarded, our language is ignored, and our needs continue to be overlooked. This pattern persists regardless of which administration is in power. We therefore implore the current government, and any future government, to do what is right. We are not asking for any favors, but for what we are entitled to as Bahamian citizens with equal rights under the law,” the statement read.

Ms Brown said Ms Gibson has since been discharged, but said the experience has left a lasting impact and exposed a critical gap in the healthcare system.