Thousands of deaf people in Wales are failing to get vital support from social services, a hearing loss charity claims today. Action on Hearing Loss Cymru (formerly RNID) is calling on the Welsh Government to ensure that the new Social Services and Well-Being Bill makes a real difference to the 534,000 people in Wales who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Currently almost 4 out of 5 people diagnosed with hearing loss (78%) leave audiology unaware of support available to them and 75 per cent of social services departments in Wales do not offer bespoke communications support or textphone numbers, meaning people are not able to access appropriate assessments.

Richard Williams, director of Action on Hearing Loss Cymru, said: "The situation is pretty bad and we know of cases where deaf people have had to move out of Wales to ensure they have the right support.

"Of course there are some councils that provide excellent support and work in a co-ordinated way with the health board and voluntary sector to ensure the right services are provided in the most effective way.

"Yet too many local authorities have lost specialist social workers roles who are trained to work with deaf people, meaning deaf people have to rely on support from people who can't communicate effectively and safely with them. It is not safe and it is leaving people at risk. The new Bill gives us a chance to improve services for people who are deaf and hard of hearing and we want to urge the Government and local authorities across Wales to take that opportunity to ensure they are providing safe services."

Deaf people have met with the Deputy Minister to urge the Welsh Government to use the new Bill to ensure services to deaf people are improved. The charity is calling for the Best Practice standards to be updated in line with the new Bill and for local authorities to ensure that their services are accessible to deaf people.

Local Assembly Member Paul Davies said, "It's extremely worrying that deaf people across Wales are not receiving the support that they so desperately need. Services need to be delivered locally – deaf people should not have to leave Wales to access them. The number of people with hearing loss is growing fast in Wales and the new Social Services and Well-Being Bill is a great opportunity for the Deputy Minister to update the Best Practice standards and make a clear commitment to improving services for deaf people across the country."