Mental health service for deaf people

The team at St John’s Hospital, Livingston, coordinates outreach clinics across the country to support deaf adults with moderate or severe mental health conditions. The service also provides advice and training for mental health professionals to support people in their local communities.

What specialist mental health support is available for deaf people?

Specialist help is available when communication difficulties complicate the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders for patients.

The service offers consultancy and liaison around the following:

• advice on local management of deaf people with moderate or severe mental health problems, which present challenges in assessment and/or treatment across Scotland
• assessment and/or treatment of patients at request of, or in liaison with, local clinicians on an outreach basis
• provision of training in deaf awareness and deaf mental health issues for mental health professionals

Patients will be seen on an individual basis for assessment of mental state and diagnosis in complex cases. Specific treatment may be on offer for a given time period. Support for local teams will be given to deliver care directly to patients.

Further information about the service is available on the NHS Lothian website.

Referral process

Referrals can be made in writing, and referral forms are available to download from the NHS Lothian website.

Alternatively, you can call or email the team administrator on 01506 523671 or mhdeafservice@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk.