The team of the Non-governmental Organization "Public Movement "Social Unity" addressed a letter to the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska regarding the restoration of the right of people with hearing disabilities to access medical services.
In the letter, we expressed our gratitude for the contribution to the development of a barrier-free space in Ukraine, attention to the problems of people with disabilities, and work towards the systemic transformation of views on disability in Ukraine in accordance with world standards. But as before, in Ukraine, there is a catastrophically low level of adaptability of society and public space to the needs of the sign language community. This problem is especially acute when trying to ensure communication with people with hearing impairments in critical areas, which primarily include the field of providing medical services.
"Information accessibility was defined as one of the areas of accessibility provided by the National Strategy for the Creation of a Barrier-Free Space in Ukraine for the Period Until 2030, approved on April 14, 2021.
Also, in 2021, significant changes took place in the legislative regulation of the availability of medical services for people with hearing impairments. On the initiative of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine established a requirement for hospitals that wish to conclude a contract with the National Health Service from April 1, 2022, to confirm the possibility of translation into Ukrainian sign language.
In particular, in accordance with the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 820 dated August 9, 2021, in order to ensure unhindered access of persons with hearing disabilities to medical services, amendments were made to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 410 dated April 25, 2018, according thereby from April 1, 2022, a proposal submitted by an entity that wishes to enter into a contract with the NHSU on medical care of the population under the medical guarantee program must contain a scanned copy of the document in electronic form confirming the provision of translation into Ukrainian sign language (from Ukrainian sign language ). If this document is not submitted as part of the Proposal, the proposal of such an entity will not be considered and the contract will not be concluded.
It should be noted that the experience of implementing the possibility of translation from/to Ukrainian sign language in health care institutions even before the introduction of the corresponding requirement in the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 410 was successfully implemented by the city of Kharkiv Council and received the positive approval of the UN Monitoring Mission and is recommended for use in the world.
Unfortunately, the enemy intervened in the life of Ukraine, and in the first days of a full-scale war and the introduction of martial law, the authorities faced the question of adapting the activities of critical areas as much as possible to the requirements of wartime.
According to the changes introduced by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 529 dated May 03, 2022 (which shall apply from May 1, 2022), for the period of martial law and within a month after its cancellation, the requirements of the Procedure approved by this Resolution regarding the presence in the proposal to conclude a contract of sub of the business entity of the document confirming the provision of translation into Ukrainian sign language (from Ukrainian sign language), do not apply.
Such changes are essentially discriminatory and limit the right of people with hearing impairments to access health services.
The legal regime of wartime actually provides for cases of certain restrictions on the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen. However, we cannot fail to note that such a restriction on the right of access to medical services applied exclusively to people with hearing impairments. Although this provision is essentially discriminatory towards people with hearing impairments who use Ukrainian sign language.
The Order of the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine No. 309 dated 22.12.2022 approved the List of territories where hostilities are (were) taking place or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. Territories that are not included in the specified List have the opportunity to organize their activities and for almost one and a half years of full-scale war have adapted to the specific requirements of wartime.
In this regard, changes continue to be made to the provisions of the legislative norms adopted in the first months of the full-scale war, which gradually return the legal regulation to pre-war or bring the legal regulation as close as possible to the legal norms in force as of February 24, 2022.
However, access for people with hearing impairments to medical services even in the rear areas has not yet been restored, which not only discriminates against people with hearing impairments, but also makes it impossible to provide quality medical care and creates increased danger to their lives and health".
Our team proposes as an alternative to the current version to make appropriate changes and provide that "during the period of martial law and within a month after its cancellation, the requirement of the Procedure approved by this resolution regarding the presence in the proposal for the conclusion of a contract of a business entity that is registered and carries out activities in the territories where hostilities are taking place and the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, specified in the relevant List, approved by the Order of the Ministry on Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine No. 309 dated December 22, 2022, of the document confirming the provision of a translation into Ukrainian sign language (from Ukrainian sign language), do not apply".
Read the full content of the letter below.
