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Teenager used by NHS to tell deaf mum her dad was dying, report finds
A teenage boy was used by NHS staff to tell his deaf mother that her father might die overnight, an investigation has found.
After being diagnosed with heart failure in June 2021, Alan Graham, 75, returned to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in September, with symptoms including swelling in his legs and chest pain. He died two weeks later.
On the night before he died, 16-year-old Connor Petty was asked by NHS staff to tell his mother, Jennifer Graham-Petty, who was born deaf and uses British Sign Language (BSL), that his grandfather could pass away overnight. The boy was also asked to tell Ms Graham-Petty that medics thought CPR should not be provided if the need arose.
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has since apologised to the family and said it had "implemented learning actions across the organisation". Speaking to the Press Association news agency, Ms Graham-Petty said that the experience was "very upsetting" and that she had asked for an interpreter "every day" her father was in hospital.
"My children just wanted to visit their granddad and be there for him as family members, but they were constantly being asked to translate by the staff.
Amir Nisi
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