Deaf TikTok star ‘had no translator for care check-up' three days before death
Imogen Nunn, 25, died in Brighton, East Sussex, on New Year's Day 2023 after taking a poisonous substance she ordered online.
Ms Nunn, who was born deaf, raised awareness of hearing and mental health issues on her social media accounts, which attracted more than 780,000 followers.
On Tuesday, the Inquest at West Sussex Coroners Court in Horsham were informed of a 'huge shortage' in BSL interpreters from Carmen Jones, a nurse for the deaf adult community team (DACT) at South West London and St George's NHS Trust.
Just days before Ms Nunn's death, she received a check-in visit at her home from care professionals after sending a text message saying she had had an increase in suicidal thoughts.
No BSL interpreter was brought to the meeting as there was not enough time to arrange it, the court was told in March.
Communicating through a BSL interpreter on Tuesday, Ms Jones said: 'There is a huge shortage of BSL interpreters.
'Even in my current job I still struggle to get interpreters for my role in my work and because I've seen deaf patients requiring access to mental health teams, I see that they are also struggling.'
She told senior coroner Penelope Schofield 'it would be very difficult' for a deaf person to communicate the crisis they were in without an interpreter.
'It's based around language, how can anyone understand another person if they don't share a language?' Ms Jones added.
Consultant psychiatrist Simon Baker, who visited Ms Nunn on 29 December 2022 at her home, previously told the court he was 'surprised' how well the meeting had gone.
The inquest into Ms Nunn's death was previously adjourned for two months because there were no BSL interpreters available to translate for two members of DACT.
This correlated with concerns noted in a prevention of future deaths report written by Ms Schofield regarding Ms Nunn's care.
It reads: 'During the course of the inquest (which has yet to be concluded), I heard evidence that there was a lack of availability of British Sign Language Interpreters able to help support deaf patients in the community who were being treated with mental health difficulties.
'This was particularly apparent when mental health staff were seeking an interpreter at short notice for a patient who was in crisis.
'The lack of interpreters available has meant that urgent assessments are being carried out with no interpreters present.'
The inquest continues on Wednesday morning.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Addiction to ketamine rises eight-fold in a decade as powerful tranquiliser becomes popular with Gen Z
Doctors say heavy use can cause liver disease and permanently damage the bladder and kidneys GENERATION K Addiction to ketamine rises eight-fold in a decade as powerful tranquiliser becomes popular with Gen Z DOCTORS have sounded the alarm over an eight-fold rise in ketamine addiction in a decade. The powerful tranquilliser is popular with Generation Z because of its relatively low cost, experts say. Advertisement 1 Addiction to ketamine has risen eight-fold in a decade, experts have warned Credit: Getty Clinics in England treated 3,609 people of all ages for addiction last year, eight times more than 426 in 2014, figures reveal. Ketamine, also referred to as 'K' or 'Ket', numbs pain and can cause a trippy high. Dealers sell it in powder form for around £20 to £40 a gram compared with £40 to £60 a gram for low-quality cocaine. Doctors say heavy use can cause liver disease and permanently damage the bladder and kidneys. It is linked to constipation, depression and loss of mental sharpness. Advertisement Many medics fail to understand how addictive it can be, an NHS report said. Led by Dr Irene Guerrini of the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, it called the drug's prevalence 'concerning'. It said: 'As ketamine use increases, more individuals are seeking treatment for addiction. 'Long-term use can seriously harm both physical and mental health, diminishing quality of life, affecting personal relationships and impairing academic or professional performance.' Advertisement Dr Guerrini called for stricter guidelines on how the NHS uses the drug and more funds for treatment and prevention. Ministers are considering uprating 34878330from a Class B to Class A drug.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Frazer Irvine inquest hears ambulance calls to police 'not safe'
A coroner has criticised the lack of communication between Jersey's emergency services following the death of a the inquest of Frazer Irvine, 39, who died of a heart attack on 18 March 2022 while ambulance workers and police officers were at his home, Bridget Dolan KC said it was hard to see how lessons could be learnt from his death without a relevant policy on ambulance staff calling for police inquest also heard from paramedic John Sutherland who said he and his colleague may have treated Mr Irvine differently if there had not been a "huge delay" in the response to their calls for police inquest, expected to conclude on Friday, continues. Mr Sutherland and ambulance technician Tom Le Sauteur were previously found guilty of failing to take reasonable care of Mr Irvine the night he paramedic told the hearing there were "absolutely" things he could have done better on the night, such as putting on personal protective equipment (PPE) earlier and using equipment to monitor Mr Irvine more Sutherland said that Mr Irvine was aggressive when he and Mr Le Sauteur arrived at his home but the police did not respond to their first call for help, and had to be chased up with a second said concern for his and his colleague's safety and an inability to move Mr Irvine from the top of the staircase outside his flat meant they did not provide active medical care until the police arrived. The inquest heard that Mr Sutherland and Mr Le Sauteur told emergency call handlers they needed police back up because of Mr Irvine's aggression but did not pass on information about the urgency of the situation, including the risks to them or the Dolan identified that, at the time, there was no policy requiring them to do so nor a policy requiring the emergency call handlers to ask for this said if this information was not passed on to the police, the system was not evidence at the hearing, Senior Ambulance Officer James Inglis admitted there was still no appropriate policy on this Dolan challenged Mr Inglis on a draft policy on calls for police assistance, written by the ambulance service in May said it still did not require ambulance staff requesting police back up to pass on essential information or require emergency call handlers to ask for Inglis told the hearing he would review the policy and deal with some of the issues within it. 'Against clinical practice' Mr Sutherland was also questioned on why he and his colleagues stopped Mr Irvine's cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after 20 minutes, despite guidelines stating it should be continued for longer in the case of a suspected Sutherland said he and his ambulance colleagues determined it was "futile" to continue the CPR beyond 20 minutes, as they would have had to stop compressions for several minutes to get Mr Irvine down the stairs to where the ambulance Inglis told the hearing the decision to stop CPR after 20 minutes was not in accordance with the clinical practice or guidelines at time, adding he would have expected the crew to make an effort to get Mr Irvine to inquest continues.
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Wales Online
TV doctor Hilary Jones says he would help terminally ill to die if law changed
TV doctor Hilary Jones says he would help terminally ill to die if law changed The GP, often seen on ITV's Good Morning Britain and the Lorraine show, said medicine will go "back to the Dark Ages" if proposed legislation being considered at Westminster is voted down Dr Hilary Jones (Image: ITV ) TV doctor Hilary Jones has described assisted dying for the terminally ill as "kind and compassionate", adding that he would help a patient to end their life if the law was changed. The GP, often seen on ITV's Good Morning Britain and the Lorraine show, said medicine will go "back to the Dark Ages" if proposed legislation being considered at Westminster is voted down. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will return to the House of Commons for debate on Friday, with MPs expected to consider further amendments. In its current form the Bill, which applies only to England and Wales, would mean terminally ill adults with only six months left to live could apply for assistance to end their lives, with approval needed from two doctors and the expert panel. Last month, MPs approved a change in the Bill to ensure no medics would be obliged to take part in assisted dying. Doctors already had an opt-out but the new clause extends that to anyone, including pharmacists and social care workers. Article continues below Dr Jones, in an interview with the PA news agency, said medics are "looking over their shoulders because of the legal repercussions of the law" as it stands. Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years. Asked about the significance if the law does change, Dr Jones told PA: "It will relieve healthcare professionals who deal with terminal illness. "There are wonderful people who are caring and compassionate, who just live in fear of their actions being misinterpreted, of being accused of wrongdoing, and because of that fear, people at the end of life are often undertreated. "People are looking over their shoulder because of the medications they're using or the doses they're using, it means that patients aren't getting the best palliative care that they could have. "And I think the Bill, if it passes, will alleviate a great deal of that, and put people's minds at rest that they're not going to suffer unnecessarily at the end of life." Ahead of last month's Commons debate on the Bill, two royal medical colleges raised concerns over the proposed legislation. The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) said it believes there are "concerning deficiencies", while the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) said it has "serious concerns" and cannot support the Bill. Dr Jones, who has been practising medicine for more than 45 years and spent time working on cancer wards during his career, said he has "always supported it (assisted dying)". He added: "I've always felt it is the most humane, kind and compassionate thing that relatives and doctors can provide, knowing that that person's wishes are respected and known, that there is full mental capacity and that they're surrounded by love. "And for me, it's always been very clear." Asked if, were the law to change, he would be content to help someone who had chosen assisted dying at the end of their life, he said: "Absolutely, if I know the patient, I know what their wishes are, I see them suffering, and there's nothing more I can do to help their suffering then, absolutely, I would hold their hand and help them achieve what they want to achieve." Some of the Bill's opponents have urged MPs to focus on improving end-of-life care rather than legislating for assisted dying. But Dr Jones said his mother, who was a nurse and died "suffering unnecessarily" despite the "best possible palliative care" would be "proud of me speaking on this subject now, in the way I am". He told of his respect for people's "religious beliefs, cultural beliefs and personal feelings" in being opposed to assisted dying but insisted it should be an area of choice. He said: "The bottom line is that I think it's the patient's individual choice. I think we should respect the right of the individual to choose what they want. "This is not a mandatory thing. This is not being imposed on anybody. "And I think people should have the individual right to make a decision about how they end their life if they've got a terminal illness where there's no prospect of cure and they're suffering and they fear an undignified death." Asked about the prospect of the Bill being voted down by MPs, Dr Jones said: "We would be back to square one, back to the Dark Ages, in my opinion, medically, and that would be a shame. "I don't think we would be advancing medicine if the Bill is not passed." Our Duty Of Care, a group of healthcare professionals campaigning against a change in the law, said the question must be whether someone is making a "true choice" if they apply for assisted dying. Article continues below Dr Gillian Wright, a spokesperson for the group, said: "If someone has not had access to palliative care, psychological support or social care, then are they making a true choice?" "At a time when the NHS is on its knees, when palliative are social care are struggling and our amazing hospices are having to close beds and cut services because of lack of money, as someone who has cared for people at the end of life, I would urge MPs to vote against this Bill but instead invest in excellent specialist palliative care, social care and psychological support."
