Making health and social care information accessible
From 1 August 2016 onwards, all organisations that provide NHS care and/or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss.
The Accessible Information Standard ensures that people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss are given information they can easily read or understand.
Support that might be required includes audio, large print, easy read, braille or using a British Sign Language (BSL) or other language interpreter.
All healthcare professionals at the Trust must acknowledge and record patients and service users communication needs:
- At the first interaction or registration with their service
- As part of on-going routine interaction with the service by existing patients and service users.
Responsibilities under the Standard
From 1 August 2016 onwards, all organisations that provide NHS care and/or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to;
As part of the Standard, healthcare workers who interact with service users or patients must do five things:
- Ask people if they have any information or communication needs and find out how best to meet those needs.
- Record those needs clearly in their record and in a set way.
- Highlight the person’s record so it’s clear that they have information or communication needs and how those needs should be met.
- Share information about people’s needs with the other providers of NHS and adult social care, when they have permission to do so.
- Take steps to ensure that people receive information which they can access and understand, and receive communication support if they need it.
A short summary document which provides an overview of the Standard for patients, service users, carers and parents is also available in a range of formats.
Interpreter Services
We have interpreting and translation services in place for patients with additional needs
More information about the Standard
Further information can be accessed on the NHS England website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/patients/accessibleinfo/