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
- 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
Click below to view NHS England's Accessible Information Standard's Specification v1.1