Useful addresses

We have included the following organisations because, on preliminary investigation, they may be of use to the reader. However, we do not have first-hand experience of each organisation and so cannot guarantee the organisation’s integrity. The reader must therefore exercise his or her own discretion and judgement when making further enquiries.

Benefits Enquiry Line

Tel: 0800 882200

Minicom: 0800 243355

Website: www.dwp.gov.uk
N. Ireland: 0800 220674
Government agency giving information and advice on sickness and disability benefits for people with disabilities and their carers.

British Acoustic Neuroma Association

Oak House Ransom Wood Business Park Southwell Road West Mansfield Nottinghamshire NG21 0HJ

Tel: 01623 632143

Helpline: 0800 652 3143

Website: www.ukan.co.uk/bana
Offers information sheets, audio tapes and videos about acoustic neuroma. Has local branches and can put people in touch with each other for mutual support in coping with this disorder.

British Academy of Audiology

(Merging of British Association of Audiological Society, British Association of Audiologists and British Society of Hearing Therapists) PO Box 346 Peterborough PE6 7EG

Tel: 01733 253976

Website: www.baaudiology.org
Professional body representing and advising health professionals working in the field of audiology.

British Tinnitus Association (BTA)

Unit 5, Ground Floor Acorn Business Park Woodseats Close Sheffield S8 0TB

Tel: 0114 250 9922

Helpline: 0800 018 0527

Minicom: 0114 250 9922

Website: www.tinnitus.org.uk
Acts as umbrella for nation-wide support groups and has information about tinnitus. Offers training to health professionals.

Council for Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP)

Durham University Science Park Block 4 Stockton Road Durham DH1 3UZ

Tel: 0191 383 1155

Text: 0191 383 7915

Website: www.cacdp.org.uk
Examination Board for British sign language and other deaf studies qualifications. Holds register of interpreters.

Cued Speech Association UK

9 Duke Street Dartmouth Devon TQ6 9PY

Tel: 01803 832784

Text: 01803 832784

Website: www.cuedspeech.co.uk
Offers information, support and training for parents and professionals about cued speech. This lip-reading supplement can provide complete spoken language through vision for deaf people. Publications and videos available.

Deaf Education through Listening and Talking (DELTA)

PO Box 20 Haverhill Suffolk CB9 7BD

Tel: 01440 783689

Website: www.deafeducation.org.uk
National group of teachers and parents of deaf children offering information and guidance to help children develop normal speech and live independently. Runs conferences for professionals and summer schools for families.

Defeating Deafness (The Hearing Research Trust)

330–332 Gray’s Inn Road London WC1X 8EE

Tel: 020 7833 1733

Helpline: 0808 808 2222

Textphone: 020 7915 1412

Website: www.defeatingdeafness.org
The only UK charity dedicated to funding medical research into hearing impairment. Offers information service on hearing-related illnesses.

Disability Rights Commission

FREEPOST MID 02164 Stratford upon Avon CV37 9BR

Tel: 0845 762 2633

Textphone: 0845 762 2644

Website: www.drc-gb.org
Government sponsored centre offering publications and up-to-date information on the Disability Discrimination Act. Special team of advisers can help with problems of discrimination at work.

Hearing Aid Council

Witan Court 305 Upper Fourth Street Central Milton Keynes Bucks MK9 1EH

Tel: 01908 235700

Website: www.thehearingaidcouncil.org.uk
Regulatory body reporting to the Department of Trade and Industry. Provides rules on code of practice to dispensers and their employees of non-NHS, privately available hearing aids.

Hearing Concern

4th Floor 275–281 King Street London W6 9LZ

Tel: 020 8233 2929

Text: 020 8233 2934

Helpline: 0845 074 4600

Website: www.hearingconcern.org.uk
Offers advice and support to hard-ofhearing and deaf adults and professionals. Trained volunteers around the UK are available to visit people’s homes to give advice. Arranges holidays designed for people with hearing loss and their relatives and friends.

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

The Grange Wycombe Road Saunderton, Princes Risborough Bucks HP27 9NS

Tel: 01844 348100 (voice and minicom)

Website: www.hearing-dogs.co.uk
Selects and trains rescue dogs. Voluntary branches across the UK.

LINK Centre for Deafened People

19 Hartfield Road Eastbourne East Sussex BN21 2AR

Tel: 01323 638230

Text: 01323 739998

Website: www.linkcentre.org
Provides a comprehensive rehabilitation service for deafened adults and their families. Offers training to health professionals and deafened people working together. Referrals by health professionals necessary.

Menière’s Society

The Rookery Surrey Hills Business Park Wotton Dorking RH5 6QT

Tel/Text: 01306 876883

Helpline: 0845 120 2975

Website: www.menieres.org.uk
Offers general information about Menièère’s disease and how to manage it. Members can be put in touch with others in order to share coping strategies.

National Centre for Deaf Blindness

John and Lucille Van Geest Place 8 Cygnet Road Hampton Peterborough PE7 8FD

Tel: 01733 358100

Text: 01733 358858

Helpline: 0800 132320

Website: www.deafblind.org.uk
Membership organisation that offers information and training to staff, sufferers and their families as well as support. Training available to other organisations. Transcribing services also provided.

National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS)

15 Dufferin Street London EC1Y 8UR

Tel: 020 7490 8656

Helpline and minicom: 0808 800 8880

Text: 020 7490 8656

Website: www.ndcs.org.uk
National organisation providing support in the home with advice on education, aids, etc. Runs workshops, holds exhibitions and provides training for professionals.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)

MidCity Place 71 High Holborn London WC1V 6NA

Tel: 020 7067 5800

Website: www.nice.org.uk
Provides national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill-health. Patient information leaflets are available for each piece of guidance issued.

Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID)

19–23 Featherstone Street London EC1Y 8SL

Tel: 020 7296 8000

Helpline: 0808 808 0123

Text: 0808 808 9000

Website: www.rnid.org.uk
A key player in providing a variety of information for the deaf and hard of hearing, in establishing new services, campaigning for equality at all levels and developing awareness of the issues at the highest level.

Sense, The National Deafblind and Rubella Association

11–13 Clifton Terrace Finsbury Park London N4 3SR

Tel: 020 7272 7774

Text: 020 7272 9648

Website: www.sense.org.uk
Offer general information, support and training for families of deaf–blind people and care workers. Has local support groups.

Sign Community (British Deaf Association, BDA)

1–3 Worship Street London EC2A 2AB

Tel: 020 7588 3520

Helpline voice phone: 0870 770 3300

Helpline minicom: 0800 652 2965

Videophone: 020 7496 9539

Website: www.signcommunity.org.uk
Offers information, counselling services and promotes the use of sign language run by deaf people for deaf people.

THE INTERNET AS A SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION

After reading this text, you may feel that you would like further information on the subject. The internet is of course an excellent place to look and there are many websites with useful information about medical disorders, related charities and support groups. For those who do not have a computer at home some bars and cafes offer facilities for accessing the internet. These are listed in the Yellow Pages under ‘Internet Bars and Cafes’ and ‘Internet Providers’. Your local library offers a similar facility and has staff to help you find the information that you need.
It should always be remembered, however, that the internet is unregulated and anyone is free to set up a website and add information to it. Many websites offer impartial advice and information that has been compiled and checked by qualified medical professionals. Some, on the other hand, are run by commercial organisations with the purpose of promoting their own products. Others still are run by pressure groups, some of which will provide carefully assessed and accurate information whereas others may be suggesting medications or treatments that are not supported by the medical and scientific community.
Unless you know the address of the website you want to visit – for example, www.familydoctor.co.uk – you may find the following guidelines useful when searching the internet for information.

SEARCH ENGINES AND OTHER SEARCHABLE SITES

Google (www.google.co.uk) is the most popular search engine used in the UK, followed by Yahoo! (http://uk.yahoo.com) and MSN (www.msn.co.uk). Also popular are the search engines provided by Internet Service Providers such as Tiscali and other sites such as the BBC site (www.bbc.co.uk).
In addition to the search engines that index the whole web, there are also medical sites with search facilities, which act almost like mini-search engines, but cover only medical topics or even a particular area of medicine. Again, it is wise to look at who is responsible for compiling the information offered to ensure that it is impartial and medically accurate. The NHS Direct site (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) is an example of a searchable medical site.
Links to many British medical charities can be found at the Association of Medical Research Charities’ website (www.amrc.org.uk) and at Charity Choice (www.charitychoice.co.uk).

SEARCH PHRASES

Be specific when entering a search phrase. Searching for information on ‘cancer’ will return results for many different types of cancer as well as on cancer in general. You may even find sites offering astrological information. More useful results will be returned by using search phrases such as ‘lung cancer’ and ‘treatments for lung cancer’. Both Google and Yahoo! offer an advanced search option that includes the ability to search for the exact phrase; enclosing the search phrase in quotes, that is, ‘treatments for lung cancer’, will have the same effect. Limiting a search to an exact phrase reduces the number of results returned but it is best to refine a search to an exact match only if you are not getting useful results with a normal search.
Adding ‘UK’ to your search term will bring up mainly British sites, so a good phrase might be ‘lung cancer’ UK (don’t include UK within the quotes).

WARNING

Always remember the internet is international and unregulated. It holds a wealth of valuable information but individual sites may be biased, out of date or just plain wrong. Family Doctor Publications accepts no responsibility for the content of links published in this series.