Video relay

Also called VRS, Video relay service, Video remote interpreting, VRI, 999 BSL

Calling through a BSL interpreter on screen: how it works, when it is free, and where it falls short of an interpreter in the room.

What it is

Video relay is a phone call made in BSL. The Deaf person signs to an interpreter on a video link, the interpreter speaks to the hearing person on an ordinary phone line, and back again. Video remote interpreting is the close cousin, where both people are in the same room and the interpreter joins by screen. The technology is the same; the difference is who is where.

The 999 BSL service, launched in 2022, lets a Deaf BSL user call the emergency services this way, free, from an app or a web page, around the clock.

Who it can help

Deaf BSL users who need to phone a service, an employer, a family member or an emergency operator. Also services that need to call a Deaf customer back, and settings where a face-to-face interpreter cannot be booked in time.

Video relay for ordinary calls is not universally free. Many public bodies, banks and utilities pay a provider so their Deaf customers can call them free; calls that are not covered by a subscribing organisation may need Access to Work or the Deaf person's own subscription. For long, sensitive or complex conversations, a mental health assessment, a safeguarding meeting, a diagnosis, an interpreter in the room remains the standard and remote interpreting is the fallback, not the equal.

How it works

You open the provider's app or web page, wait for an interpreter, and make the call; the interpreter dials the number and interprets both ways. Good lighting, a stable connection and a steady camera matter more than the device. Calls can be arranged with an interpreter who has a specialism, and some providers let you book a slot rather than wait.

For 999, the 999 BSL app or website connects you to an interpreter who calls the operator. There is no registration needed. It runs alongside Relay UK on 18000 and emergencySMS; see contacting 999 for all three.

Getting started

Install the 999 BSL app now, before you need it. Then check which of the organisations you deal with most, your GP surgery, council, bank, energy supplier, offer a free video relay service, and bookmark their links; the provider name will be on their accessibility page. Do a test call to a friend or a helpline so you know the interface.

If you work, add video relay to your Access to Work application as a named cost. If you run a service, subscribe to a provider so Deaf customers can call you free, and put the link where a Deaf person will find it, on the contact page, not in a PDF.

Where to get help

RNID lists the video relay providers and explains the costs. The British Deaf Association advised on 999 BSL and can help when a service will not provide access. SignHealth runs BSL health services including interpreted video access to NHS services. Deaf Action for Scotland.