Rose Ayling-Ellis calls for emergency services to be trained in sign language

Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis has backed calls for emergency service staff to receive sign language training.

The former EastEnders star was commenting on a story where paramedics were unable to communicate to a deaf woman that her husband had died.

Read more: Rose Ayling-Ellis 'heckled' during stage performance

Ayling-Ellis – who herself is deaf – tweeted that ambulance staff "should have been given the right tools [and] support to be able to communicate with this lady".

She also criticised those saying that the children should have told their mother: "I just want to break it down as simply as possible. 'Why can't the children tell the mother?' No child should ever do this. Imagine going through the most traumatic time of your life. You need someone there you can access in the full language. Not writing backwards and forwards."

Ayling-Ellis also outlined a couple of ways emergency services could improve in their work with the hearing impaired: "For example, Paramedics having emergency interpreter on iPad ready on call for this situation. And, basic BSL to be able to pick up quickly that this lady was trying to communicate with them."

She concluded by saying: "No, let be realistic here, we pay our taxes too, we have every rights to receive the same care."

The incident Ellis was referring to was that of Elizabeth Corbett who learned of the death of her husband over video call.

Corbett, who was born deaf, was told by her children that her husband David had fallen ill and when she returned to their home, paramedics were there but would not let her inside but could not communicate with her.

Of the incident which happened in 2021, Corbett said: "I wanted to know what was happening and the police were asking me questions, but they were all wearing face masks so I couldn't tell what they were saying. Eventually I contacted work and the receptionist spoke to the paramedics who told her that David had died. So I found out over FaceTime that he had gone."

Corbett has also called for emergency services to undergo sign language training and for people in the community to have the ability to connect to an interpreter.

Watch below: Rose Ayling-Ellis responds to 'screaming' heckler.