Using the phone

Also called Phone calls without speech, Telephone access

Banks, doctors and councils still want a voice call. Here are the ways round it for a person who cannot make one.

What it is

The phone is the last place where speech is still compulsory. A person who cannot use a voice call is locked out of the bank's security check, the GP's 8am scramble, the council's benefits line and half the customer service in the country, because "call us" is the only door offered.

There are real alternatives, some of them free and built into the network. Most people who need them have never been told they exist.

Who it can help

Anyone who cannot speak on a phone, cannot hear one, or cannot be understood on one: AAC users, Deaf and deaf people, people who stammer, people with dysarthria whose speech is clear in person but not down a line. Family members who are tired of being the person's phone.

It is not a route for a person who can speak but finds calls stressful; for them, asking for email or text contact under the Accessible Information Standard is the answer, and no service should refuse.

How it works

Relay UK is the free service, run by BT for every UK network, that puts a relay assistant on the line. You type, they speak your words to the other person; the other person speaks, and their words appear as text on your screen. It works from a phone app or a computer, and the 18001 prefix in front of any number starts a call. Nobody you ring needs to have anything special. 999 works through it too, and there is a separate emergency SMS service for registered users; see contacting 999.

Video relay does the same in British Sign Language, with an interpreter on video. Many banks, utilities and NHS services now offer it from their contact pages, and 999 BSL is free from any device.

A speech-generating device can also simply be held to a phone on speaker. It is crude, it works with most automated systems, and it is often the fastest option for a short call. Some AAC apps and devices can route their voice straight into a call on the same tablet or phone.

Getting started

Install the Relay UK app on a phone this week and make one test call to a friend, so that the first real call is not the first time. Register your number for emergency SMS at the same time; the registration is one text message.

Look at the contact page of the three organisations you ring most. Most now list a video relay link, a textphone option or a web chat, and web chat is often the best of all of them.

Put "I am using a relay service, please wait for my reply" on your device as a quick phrase. And when a service insists on a voice call, tell them in writing that you need an alternative under the Accessible Information Standard or the Equality Act. That sentence usually ends the argument.

Where to get help

Relay UK has the app, the guides and the 999 registration. RNID explains the options for deaf people and pushes organisations to offer them. SignHealth covers video relay in health settings. AbilityNet can help set up a device that is hard to use with a call.