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Induction Loop Systems For The Hearing Impaired

WHY FIT AN INDUCTION LOOP SYSTEM?

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), current Building Regulations, BS8300 and the new Care Standards Act all recommend the installation of an induction loop system (or similar) as summarised below:-

1.THE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT 1995
The DDA states that any service provider offering goods, facilities and services to the general public must make ‘reasonable’ adjustments to ensure that they do not unlawfully discriminate against disabled people. From October 2004, service providers who fail to make adequate provision for people with hearing difficulties face prosecution. Examples of service providers covered under the DDA include hotels, post offices, banks, building societies, sports stadiums,theatres, shops, nursing homes, petrol stations, places of worship, courts, hospitals and leisure centres.

2.BUILDING REGULATIONS (1992)
The Building Regulations of 1992 state that newly erected or substantially reconstructed non-domestic buildings must provide aids for the hearing impaired. Areas requiring cover include booking and ticket offices where the customer is separated from the vendor by a glazed screen, reception areas, auditoria and meeting rooms in excess of 100m2.

3.BS8300
Introduced in 2002, BS8300 (the code of practice for the design of new buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people) pinpoints the following areas for consideration: seated waiting areas; ticket sales and information points; fitness suites and exercise studios; CHurches; crematoria and cemetery chapels and educational, cultural and scientific buildings.

4. THE CARE STANDARDS ACT (2002)
The Government’s new Care Standards Act (2002) demands that care homes provide certain adaptations and equipment for residents, specifically: ‘facilities, including communication aids (e.g. an induction loop system), and signs to assist the needs of all service users, taking account of the needs, for example, of those with hearing impairment, visual impairment, dual sensory impairments, learning disabilities or dementia or other cognitive impairment, where necessary.’ (standard 22.6). These are ‘core requirements which will apply to all care homes providing accommodation and nursing or personal care for older people’ in England.