Health and Social Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the accessibility of information (a) provided by the NHS and (b) on adult social care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are required to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), in order to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.
NHS England is responsible for the AIS, and has completed a review as part of the revision of the AIS. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement.
Once the revised standard receives publishing approval, NHS England will support implementation of it to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities.
The Department is working to ensure that data and information about adult social care is collected, shared, and used more effectively. This will help people access the right care, allow for better planning of how care is organised, and join up health and care services to ensure good outcomes for people who receive care and support.
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