BSL Hospitals Sign

Description

Our BSL hospitals sign is perfect for children’s wards in hospitals, first aid areas in schools and nurseries, for forest school sites or any other medical environment.

Addressing a need

Parents have pointed out that hospital experiences for deaf children and those with special needs could be significantly improved if communication between medical professionals and children who use British Sign Language was more effective.

We worked with a group of parents who had experienced the challenge of spending time in hospital with their proudly deaf children to produce the design. The eye-catching board of basic signs enables simple everyday exchanges that reduce anxiety and give reassurance in what can be a daunting setting for children.

The sign is beautifully illustrated with easy-to-understand depictions of the British Sign Language signs for 16 words relevant to a hospital or first aid environment. Each illustration has been thoughtfully created to help children learn and engage with British Sign Language (BSL), and to be able to communicate their feelings and their needs when in hospital or a first aid situation. Featured phrases include essential words like “hurt,” “comfortable”, “nurse”, “doctor” etc. The words are grouped by type and colour-coded to help quickly pick the most relevant sign.

This BSL hospital sign also includes two QR code links. One takes you to a video demonstration of each of the featured signs, and the other takes you to an online interactive “flip tiles” game that lets you practice recognition of each of the signs.

The signing illustrations are created for us by the leading BSL resource provider in the UK, LET’S SIGN. Working with LET’S SIGN ensures our BSL signs are as clear and accurate as possible. The video depictions accessible from the QR code are kindly provided by Kristy Hopkins @Hands2Hear.

Customised for you

The boards can be personalised to suit the environment they will be placed in. You can change the title to reflect the name of your hospital, ward or school and/or include a logo if you wish.

If your hospital has a contract with a BSL interpreting service, we can add a QR code link to enable a patient or visitor to request an interpreter.

Made from 5mm thick foamex, a rigid plastic. Foamex can easily be drilled with a drill driver, or we can pre-drill holes for fixing to your wall. Just choose the relevant option above.

Available in A3, A2, A1 and A0 (420mm x 297mm, 594mm x 420mm, 841mm x 594mm and 841mm x 1,189mm).