Starting in 2022, healthcare facilities will have to provide sign language translation services to visitors.
This was initiated by Viktor Liashko – Minister of Health of Ukraine at a regular meeting of the Council of Barrier-Free, which took place on October 27.
“At the initiative of the Ministry of Health, on January 1, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers set a requirement for hospitals wishing to enter into an agreement with the National Health Insurance Fund to confirm the possibility of translating the sign language into Ukrainian. This is a real requirement, and it has its results. For example, in Kharkiv, 87 city health care facilities are now provided with means of communication for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people,” Liashko said.
This view of the Minister of Health on hospital accessibility is our common victory.
For the past five years, the team of the Public Movement "Social Unity" has been implementing the "Barrier Free Ukraine for the Deaf" project, knocking on all doors, and addressing ministers and local authorities in various Ukrainian settlements. And finally, we have the results.
A large team worked to ensure that Ukrainians with hearing impairments were finally heard.
The head of the non-governmental organization Yevhen Okhrimenko, the secretary of the non-governmental organization Anton Gulidin, and the developer of modern digital services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Vitaliy Potapchuk, together with partners and like-minded people convinced the predecessors of the current Minister of Health to start implementing barrier-free health care for people with hearing impairments. After all, the medical field must be the first to adapt to the needs of people with various forms of disabilities. This is a vital area and every Ukrainian has the Constitutional right to receive quality medical services.
Uliana Suprun, Zoriana Skaletska, Illia Yemets, Maksym Stepanov – all of them listened attentively to the presentations and reports of the team of the non-governmental organization, reviewed, and some personally tested ready-to-implement solutions. No one said "No!", but at the same time did not take any effective steps forward. The team was preparing: a presentation, demonstration, and explanation of why the implementation of barrier-free space for the Deaf in health care facilities is a crucial topic. As the years passed, the leadership of the Ministry of Health changed, but the problem remained.
The joint project of the NGO with the city authorities of Kharkiv is the first experience in Ukraine in the development of barrier-free medicine within the project "Barrier Free Ukraine for the Deaf". Positive results are recognized at the UN level, and the experience is recommended for implementation in the world!
Viktor Kyrylovych Liashko, not yet in the post of Minister, learned about the developed, ready-made solutions that ensure free communication of hearing-impaired Ukrainians with employees of health care institutions. From the first minutes of acquaintance with the activities of the non-governmental organization and team members, he tried to help implement the project and provide barrier-free access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to quality services in the medical field. And now, already as a minister, Viktor Liashko has not forgotten about people with hearing impairments, who, like everyone else, need medical care.
Finally, we have a like-minded person and a leader in barrier-free ideas in the medical field. We are confident that from 2022 we will see great changes and health care facilities will be fully adapted to the needs of people with hearing impairments.
The team of the non-governmental organization promises to support and cooperate in the implementation of the most progressive ideas of accessibility in the field of medicine.
We are convinced that this is especially acute in the current pandemic. You can't stay away. So let's build barrier-free medicine and Ukraine together!
