A profoundly deaf prisoner was allegedly denied a sign language interpreter during his year in jail. The former inmate said staff at HMP Lewes took the view that lip reading and writing would be enough for him to communicate with prison staff, medical staff and other prisoners while he was serving his sentence. He alleged that when he was taken to hospital for treatment for his cancer on two separate occasions, he was handcuffed to a prison officer with a short chain, which meant that he was unable to communicate using British Sign Language (BSL).
After the consultant oncologist raised concerns directly with prison staff, he was given a longer chain Now the prisoner, known as Mr A, has settled a legal claim against the Ministry of Justice and Practice Plus Health and Rehabilitation Services, who denied liability for the unlawful discrimination claim and later agreed to settle the claim brought against them. Mr A, who is 64, is profoundly deaf and relies on BSL to effectively communicate. He was remanded to HMP Lewes in August 2021.
It is alleged that he was not provided with access to a BSL interpreter by prison or medical staff at the prison even though his communication needs were “exacerbated in light of his cancer diagnosis”, his lawyers said. READ MORE: Personal trainer died after 'living in fear' of controversial prison sentence Mr A raised his concerns with HMP Lewes to the best of his ability, but no BSL interpreter was made available. A BSL interpreter was also n.
