Emergency video relay service for deaf British Sign Language users saving lives

A new Ofcom study has found a video relay service that connects deaf British Sign Language (BSL) users to the emergency services is successfully saving lives.

Ofcom rules, introduced in 2022, require telephone and broadband companies to offer a free, 24/7 video relay service for deaf BSL users to contact the emergency services, via a dedicated mobile app and website. Telecoms firms can either deliver the service themselves or contract another organisation to do so, but it must be approved by Ofcom. This was introduced to ensure an equivalent access to emergency services for deaf BSL users.

999 BSL is currently the sole operating emergency video relay service. This service enables deaf BSL users to make emergency calls in their first language – allowing them to get urgent help they need for themselves or others.

Overall, our evaluation of the service since it was introduced has found that:

• The 999 BSL app has been downloaded 26,632 times, as of February 2025.
• Around 20,000 calls were made through the service in 2024.
• The median call waiting time in 2024 was 3 seconds, down from 4 seconds in 2023.
• At least two lives are likely to be saved per year because of the service.
• 999 BSL has received only three complaints since it launched.

Saving lives

The evaluation revealed that the service had been used in a number of life critical events.

In 2022, a deaf BSL user used the app after a gas bottle exploded. He suffered burns to his head and legs, but said that his ability to access emergency communications through 999 BSL ‘saved [his] life’.

In another incident, a deaf BSL user contacted HM Coastguard using the service to report two people being carried out to sea in an inflatable dinghy. The call operator commented that the situation was communicated quickly, and a team rescued the stranded people.

Overcoming obstacles

Ofcom set out a range of criteria which an emergency video relay service must meet, with one objective requiring at least 95% of calls made to the service must be answered in 5 seconds. This is the only requirement that the service hasn’t met yet.

Since launching, 999 BSL has faced various challenges to meet this, many of which are unique to the type of service it is providing. The most significant has been from hearing nuisance callers, where the scale of the service means that even a single nuisance caller can impact waiting times.

Our evaluation shows that progress has been made through 999 BSL’s continuing efforts to effectively address these challenges. We see proof of this in the improvement in waiting times since launch, bringing 999 BSL closer than ever to meeting its final requirement.

For more information about 999 BSL visit the service’s dedicated website