Alpha Hospital Bury are working in partnership with Sign the nationally recognised charity working with Deaf people in the community through advocacy, outreach and supported housing.

Alpha Hospital Bury's Low Secure Service for Deaf Men, provides a socially inclusive therapeutic environment, through effective communication & social strategies to enable rehabilitation. The unit promotes independent forms of living and provides an element of our Care Pathway.

Alpha Hospital Bury and Sign are highly specialised and offer culturally sensitive services for Deaf mentally ill patients. Staff are highly skilled in British Sign Language and the services are well known for innovation and development within the field.

Over the past 12 months Sign and Alpha Hospitals have been working together to develop closer working relationships to benefit Deaf people within secure forensic environments. Our first initiative is a Sign in reach worker who will take this collaborative working on to the ward and local community environments, bringing together Social care and Health to a selected group of patients to encourage greater rehabilitation and increased awareness of social responsibilities and participation within their local community.

We have also begun to share experience, knowledge and practice within shared training and staff induction initiatives to again bring a greater understanding and appreciation for staff and patients of care pathways and practice models.

It is anticipated that these will be the first of several new collaborative working opportunities which will improve and extend current care pathways available for Deaf people within a forensic setting.

Further announcements will be made shortly and details will appear on our websites.
www.alphahospitals.co.uk and www.signhealth.org.uk