Nottinghamshire Deaf Society is holding a Health Information Day on Saturday 11 September from 11am – 3pm. The event is open to the public at its centre on Forest Road West in Nottingham. There will be a number of stalls and workshops.
Deaf people have worse than average physical health. The percentage of the Deaf Community describing themselves as Permanently Sick or Disabled is 14% compared to the national average of 6%. The percentage saying their health is Poor is 10% compared to 6%.
Crucially the mental wellbeing of the Deaf Community is far worse than the national average with 10% of Deaf people having a Psychological or Emotional Condition, compared to 6%. Deaf people are SEVEN times more likely to describe themselves as having a Learning Difficulty, 14% compared to 2%. This is very likely to be ‘acquired’ Learning Difficulty resulting from the poor standard of education that Deaf people receive.
Mike Cooke, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare, the County’s mental health and learning disability service provider, will be attending the event, to talk to the Deaf Community about mental wellbeing and tips for improving mental health and recovery. Mike himself has bi-polar disorder so he knows first hand the pressure of such a diagnosis.
He commented: “Deaf people are amongst the most marginalised and disadvantaged in the country. Compound that deafness with a mental illness and you can imagine the issues that have to be faced. We have set up a special Community of Interest to support Deaf people in Nottinghamshire, which I am sponsoring and so I am delighted to be attending this event with our specialist Community Psychiatric Nurse, Emmanuel Chan who supports the Deaf community in Nottinghamshire.”
