Suzie has been Deaf from a young age and relied on lipreading. Learning British Sign Language (BSL) when she moved to Scotland six years ago transformed her communication, confidence and independence. Suzie uses public transport daily. While provision is good, information is not always accessible and last-minute changes are easily missed....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No actionable clinical change; this personal narrative is useful background for understanding the lived experience of BSL users when counselling Deaf patients about independence and communication needs.
Suzie's account underscores that accessibility for Deaf people is not just about physical infrastructure but equally about how information is communicated, an area relevant to patient education and advocacy.
- 01Suzie is Deaf from a young age and communicates primarily through BSL (British Sign Language).
- 02Physical public transport provision in Scotland is described as generally adequate.
- 03Information accessibility — such as announcements and staff communication — remains a significant barrier.
- 04Lack of visual or text-based information creates exclusion even when transport is physically accessible.
- 05Story contributes to RNID's Clear Signals campaign for transport reform.
Public transport information in Scotland is insufficiently accessible to BSL users and those who cannot rely on audio announcements.
quotepartially supported