title: Mental health services for deaf people: a need identified.
abstract: The unique problems of deaf people suffering from mental health conditions have long been recognised but have received inadequate attention in many parts of the country. In the absence of a specialist psychiatric service for deaf people in Wales a prevalence survey was conducted to estimate the numbers of deaf patients occupying long-stay mental health beds and to assess facilities available to them. A high prevalence of prelingual deafness was found in long-stay psychiatric inpatients, approximating to a relative risk ten times that in the general population. Throughout Wales there are approximately 100 patients with either prelingual or profound postlingual deafness resident in long-stay psychiatric and mental handicap beds. An inadequate provision of specialist support and equipment for all categories of deaf in-patients is demonstrated by the results of this study. Purchasers of mental health services must ensure that an acceptable quality of provision, including both access to a specialist psychiatric service and a supportive in-patient environment, is secured from providers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Medicine, Clwyd Health Authority, Preswylfa, Mold.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D003638:Deafness / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014852:Wales