A NEW campaign will be launched by a Northwich-based charity after a £44,444 funding boost.

The Deafness Support Network (DSN), has been given the money from the Department of Health's Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund (HSCVF).

The money will be used by DSN, which has its headquarters in London Road, to fund a new campaign called Life or Deaf Matters to encourage deaf awareness in GP surgeries.

A team of volunteers will audit all 78 across Cheshire, assessing surgeries’ equality of access to deaf individuals and awarding deaf friendly surgeries with a new accreditation.

Marion Murphy, health coordinator at DSN, said: “These audits will highlight the need for GP surgeries to be deaf aware and accessible for people with little to no hearing, and the accreditation will celebrate those places that are doing the right thing.

“Going to your doctor is an every day task and we forget that it can be a struggle for deaf people who can’t speak on the phone or communicate verbally.

“We hope this campaign will highlight the need for increased deaf awareness across the board.”