🩺 The Doctor’s Appointment

Another doctor’s appointment. Another interpreter not booked.

Not the interpreter’s fault—let’s be clear on that. It’s the system. The establishment. The ones who are meant to arrange access, but continually fail to do so.

I sat down across from the doctor, already anticipating the usual communication barrier. Instead of an apology or an alternative, he handed me a device.

“Here,” he said. “Use this.”

I looked at it. “What is it?”

“It amplifies my voice,” he explained. “Put it to your ear—you’ll hear me better.”

I stared at him, then the device.

“Erm... I’m deaf,” I said. “This won’t make any difference to me.”

Silence.

Once again, I was left to advocate for myself in a space that should have already understood my needs. The real issue wasn’t just a missing interpreter—it was a missing understanding of what accessibility truly means.

#DeafAwarenessWeek2025 #Access #HappenedAgain