I was disappointed to read Colin Bennett's letter (August 5).

Mr Bennett came to the launch of the Services For Deaf People video on July 9 and talked to everyone who had been involved.

He congratulated us for taking into account the views of hearing impaired people as well as people who use British Sign Language (BSL).

Indeed, we chose the venue for the launch to ensure there was a loop system for people who use hearing aids and we had a speed typist present using a laptop to project the speeches onto a large screen.

The video was a collaboration between the City Council, the Primary Care Trust and Brighton and Hove Deaf Equality and Access Forum.

It showed services for both deaf and hearing impaired people. The production included BSL interpreting, voice over and sub-titles.

The video showed the Sussex Deaf Association as one of a range of bodies providing services to deaf people.

The NHS is striving to ensure everyone gets equal access to services.

As such it has joined the council in setting up contracts with BSL interpreting providers (including the Sussex Deaf Association) to ensure that people who only communicate via this language get equal access.

The NHS strongly believes this is a right we should be defending and is one we offer to other non-English speaking communities.

The average cost per BSL interpreting session for the NHS is significantly less than the £100 Mr Bennett quotes.

This is a small price to pay when it will ensure that the GP can make a swift, accurate diagnosis.

New GP surgeries are being designed with hearing impairment in mind and the Primary Care Trust has just undertaken an audit of GP surgeries to gauge how well they meet the Disability Discrimination Act (including facilities for hearing impaired people).

The NHS invests much money in the local audiology department and offers free hearing aids.

The NHS also works in close collaboration with the council's Sensory Team to provide appropriate support and advice to the whole deaf community.

-Martin Campbell, community participation manager Brighton and Hove City Primary Care Trust