DEAF people in Worcestershire will now get better access to medical services after county health professionals completed a training course.

Some 38 staff from Worcestershire Primary Care Trust and Mental Health Partnership Trust were shown how they can reduce obstacles and barriers for deaf people using medical services and help reverse discrimination the deaf encounter.

The courses were run by Deaf Direct for the trusts and there are plans to widen the training to tackle common problems deaf people have in accessing health services.

Philip Gerrard, director of Deaf Direct said: "Deaf people experience many barriers when using health services. They cannot hear their name called in a surgery for example, or at the dentist. Making appointments and communicating with a GP's reception also poses problems. Intercom systems on hospital car parks can be a nightmare. Simple improvements can make life easier, such as promoting a fax number for deaf patients.

"We want to ensure deaf people don't receive a second class service."

Meryl Johnson-Mair, who organised the training for the trusts said: "This is a small but positive step towards ensuring deaf people can enjoy the same level of care and service others expect."