​About Accessible Information


​In recent years it has been legally recognised that making information accessible is essential to all people with a disability, an impairment and/or a sensory loss. 
 
If someone understands / is able to fully access information it allows them to:
  • Be more independent and take control of their own life
  • Be fully involved and included
  • Make informed choices
  • Be safe
  • Have dignity

Improving accessibility can be approached via a number of routes:
  • supplementing hard copy or digital text with pictures, photos and/or symbols, audio or visual clips
  • adapting situation, layout, format and style to maximise clarity

In 2012 the introduction of the Health and Social Care Act aimed to modernise the service by addressing:
  • a rising demand for services and the subsequent treatment costs
  • a need for improvement within the international arena
  • tight funding restrictions
 Their long-term aims were for:
  • Clinicians to be involved in commissioning of services
  • Providers to offer innovative services
  • Patients to be empowered
 
In 2015 this led to NHS England’s Accessible Information Standard (subsequently DCB1605 v1.1)
Key objective of the Accessible Information Standard:
To ensure that anyone with a disability, impairment or sensory difficulty receives:
  • information that they can access
  • information they can fully understand
  • communication support they might need
 
As of 31st July 2016 all organisations providing NHS or adult social care are legally obliged to:
  • Ask people if they have any information or communication needs, and find out how to meet their needs
  • Record those needs clearly and in a set way
  • Highlight or flag the person’s file or notes so it is clear that they have information or communication needs ​and how to meet those needs
  • Share information about people’s information and communication needs with other providers of NHS and adult social care, when they have consent or permission to do so
  • Take steps to ensure that people receive information that they can access and understand, and receive communication support if they need it​
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​         Click below to view NHS England's Accessible Information Standard's Specification v1.1