Deaf people may no longer need interpreters to be present for doctors appointments and other meetings thanks to a technology which will enable them to communicate via a remote translator.

A web-based video link will instead allow the hard of hearing to sit at a computer terminal with a hearing person and communicate using sign language with an interpreter sitting in a video call centre designed specifically for the deaf. The interpreter will then speak to the hearing person via the same link.

At present, if one of the 50,000 Britons who communicate using British Sign Language (BSL) needs an interpreter, they have to book an appointment, for which they wait an average two weeks and pay a minimum of £130 because interpreters must be booked for at least three hours. As a result, the majority of BSL users are forced to rely on hearing members of their family to translate during appointments.

With the help of the new service, which is provided by Significan't, a not-for-profit organisation, the cost of each appointment will come down to £40, and the average wait will be a matter of minutes - similar to that in a regular call centre - assuming the location from which the deaf person makes the call has the requisite software.

The technology is initially being rolled out in about 300 locations across the country, predominantly in health centres, local authorities, and libraries, but the hope is that it will eventually become wholly web-based, which would mean that a deaf person could in theory contact the call centre from any computer with an internet connection and a webcam.

"This is going to affect all aspects of every-day conversation for deaf people, from making a housing application, to inquiring about a school, discussing their health with a GP, or talking about tax with their account," Jeffrey McWhinney, director of Significan't, said.

Significan't's call centre is in Blackheath, and will be manned initially by about five interpreters at a time - rising to 14 as the number of users grows. The technology, provided by Cisco, enables a string of video-calls to be held in a queue and routed to the next available operator, much as in a traditional call centre.

The evolution of 3G phones with video-calling facilities is also expected to give the service a boost, because a deaf person would then in theory not even need a PC in order to contact the call centre - only a phone.

It is hoped that the new system will reduce the cost of providing interpretation skills - principally labour and transport - by as much as two thirds. At present, the only Government-funded sign language interpretation is available through a Job Centre scheme designed to help deaf people find work.

Any sign language interpretation necessary for other types of appointments - including health - must be paid for personally. Otherwise, deaf people rely on a BT-funded service known as Typetalk, where they communicate using text which is in turn relayed via voice by a call centre in Liverpool run by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

The RNID welcomed the development of Significan't's call centre, saying that one of the "key issues for many hard of hearing people was getting access to telecoms services, but called on the Government to put more money towards reducing the cost of interpreting facilities.

There are only 360 qualified BSL interpreters in the UK - about one for every 140 deaf people who use sign language.

"Ultimately, what you would expect is that deaf people are able to pay the same charges for a call as a hearing person would pay for the same call using voice, and at precent, the funding mechanisms simply do not exist to achieve this," Guido Gybels, director of new technology at the RNID, said.

Significan't received funding from the Greater London Authority when it was set up five years ago, but has since become self-sufficient by charging for its services. It also relies heavily on the donations made by technology companies such as Cisco, Mr McWhinney said.

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