To ask the Minister of Health what proposals his Department and the Trusts have to revise how people who are hard of hearing are provided for in Emergency Departments.

On 16 March this year, I launched a public consultation on the Review of Urgent & Emergency Care Services in Northern Ireland, which closed on 1 July. The draft Equality Impact Assessment, published as part of the suite of consultation documents, recognises that service users with disabilities may have particular needs in relation to the way services are organised, and this includes information and communication support needs.

The issue of accessibility for the deaf community has been raised at the public consultation workshops and this feedback will be considered as part of the implementation of the overall reform of urgent and emergency care services.

The proposed reforms aim to ensure that all citizens in Northern Ireland have equal access to safe urgent and emergency care services, tailored to their specific needs, at the right time and in the right place.