Asked by: Jen Craft (Labour - Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle health inequalities for disabled people.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.
To make it easier for disabled people to use health services, there is work underway in NHS England to make sure that staff in health settings know if they need to make reasonable adjustments for people. This includes the development of a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag, which enables the recording of key information about a patient, and their reasonable adjustment needs, in health records to ensure support can be tailored appropriately.
Under the Health and Care Act 2022, Care Quality Commission registered health and adult social care providers are required to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care and help to reduce health inequalities for autistic people and people with a learning disability. The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is being rolled out to support this. Over two million people have completed the first part of this training.
Being on the learning disability register is crucial to ensuring that people receive the right support at the right time, including access to annual health checks. Annual health checks can help to identify undetected health conditions early and ensure the appropriateness of ongoing treatments. People over 14 years old with a learning disability can receive an annual health check.
Asked by: Jen Craft (Labour - Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to NHS services for disabled people.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a National Health Service that is there for anyone who needs it whenever they need it; one in which access to and experience of healthcare services is equitable, effective and responsive. To help achieve this, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. The engagement process for the 10-Year Health Plan is underway, and as we work to develop and finalise the Plan, we are encouraging those concerned about access to services for disabled people to engage with that process so we can identify what the potential solutions are. Further information is available at the following link:
Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. To make it easier for disabled people to use health services, there is work underway in NHS England to ensure that staff in health settings know if they need to make reasonable adjustments. This includes the development of a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag, which enables the recording of key information about a patient, and their reasonable adjustment needs, in health records to ensure support can be tailored appropriately.
Since 2016, all NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers are required to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. A revised AIS is being reviewed with a view to publication, and in the meantime, NHS England is continuing to work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS.