Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that health and care information is provided in an accessible format.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. The revised standard will be published in due course.
Following publication of the revised standard, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.
These actions should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.
In addition to the AIS, following Royal Assent of the British Sign Language Act 2022, the Government Communication Service will promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in communications with the public. This is expected to support BSL users to access public services, including health and care services. Our work to promote BSL builds on a longstanding departmental commitment to ensuring our content is accessible for disabled audiences. Our GOV.UK and social media content closely follows guidance from the Government Digital Service. All videos are captioned for those who are hard of hearing, graphics have accessible texts and colours for those with reading difficulties and have voiceover descriptions for the partially sighted.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to increase funding for accessible health information.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. The revised standard will be published in due course.
Following publication of the revised standard, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.
These actions should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.
In addition to the AIS, following Royal Assent of the British Sign Language Act 2022, the Government Communication Service will promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in communications with the public. This is expected to support BSL users to access public services, including health and care services. Our work to promote BSL builds on a longstanding departmental commitment to ensuring our content is accessible for disabled audiences. Our GOV.UK and social media content closely follows guidance from the Government Digital Service. All videos are captioned for those who are hard of hearing, graphics have accessible texts and colours for those with reading difficulties and have voiceover descriptions for the partially sighted.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that providers of health and care services are producing information in adequately accessible format.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. The revised standard will be published in due course.
Following publication of the revised standard, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.
These actions should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.
In addition to the AIS, following Royal Assent of the British Sign Language Act 2022, the Government Communication Service will promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in communications with the public. This is expected to support BSL users to access public services, including health and care services. Our work to promote BSL builds on a longstanding departmental commitment to ensuring our content is accessible for disabled audiences. Our GOV.UK and social media content closely follows guidance from the Government Digital Service. All videos are captioned for those who are hard of hearing, graphics have accessible texts and colours for those with reading difficulties and have voiceover descriptions for the partially sighted.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to revise the NHS Accessible Information Standard.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. The revised standard will be published in due course.
Following publication of the revised standard, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.
These actions should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.
In addition to the AIS, following Royal Assent of the British Sign Language Act 2022, the Government Communication Service will promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in communications with the public. This is expected to support BSL users to access public services, including health and care services. Our work to promote BSL builds on a longstanding departmental commitment to ensuring our content is accessible for disabled audiences. Our GOV.UK and social media content closely follows guidance from the Government Digital Service. All videos are captioned for those who are hard of hearing, graphics have accessible texts and colours for those with reading difficulties and have voiceover descriptions for the partially sighted.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to set targets for reducing the number of people with autism without a learning disability that are confined to inpatient care in mental health hospitals.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The NHS Long Term plan commits to achieving a 50% net reduction in the number of autistic people and people with a learning disability who are inpatients in mental health hospitals by end of March 2024. This objective is inclusive of autistic inpatients who are not diagnosed with a learning disability.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
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 reduce the number of people with autism that are confined to inpatient care in mental health hospitals.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In July 2022, we published the Building the Right Support (BtRS) Action Plan, which sets out cross-government actions to strengthen community support and reduce reliance on mental health inpatient care for autistic people and people with a learning disability.
The BtRS Delivery Board is overseeing implementation of the Action Plan. The Board includes representatives from across government and public services who are working together to drive faster progress, identifying new actions and mitigations as appropriate.
This year, we are investing an additional £121 million to improve community support as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, including funding for Children and Young People’s keyworkers.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to increase support for patients' mental health after a sight loss diagnosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We recognise the value of emotional support for those facing sight loss, which can lead to anxiety, social isolation, and depression. NHS England has published a patient support toolkit for eye care commissioners and providers. The toolkit aims to ensure patients with ophthalmic conditions or sight loss are supported throughout their eye care journey.
We are expanding and transforming mental health services within the National Health Service in England, backed by additional funding of £2.3 billion a year by March 2024. This will allow an extra two million people, including those with sight loss, to get the mental health support that they need. Patients can be referred into NHS Talking Therapies by their general practitioner or can self-refer directly.
To further strengthen the support available to patients, the Royal National Institute of Blind People has been working with stakeholders, including NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Eye Care, to develop a patient support pathway for health and social care professionals to help standardise the support that should be available to patients through their eye care journey.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce disparities in maternal health outcomes experienced by black women and women from Asian and Ethnic Minority groups.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department is committed to tackling disparities in maternal outcomes. In March 2023, NHS England published its three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services. The plan outlines how NHS England will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for all.
NHSE also published its Equity and Equality guidance for Local Maternity Systems which focuses on actions to reduce disparities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing NICE guidance to ensure that psychological therapies are integrated in the eye care pathway.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) develops comprehensive guidance for healthcare professionals on best practice in a defined disease area. NICE guidelines are developed by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and extensive engagement with interested parties, who also help determine the scope of any guideline. There is not a single ‘eye care pathway’, rather NICE has issued guidelines on several different eye conditions, including macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts.
The macular degeneration guideline acknowledges the psychological impact of the condition and signposts to the NICE guideline on the management of depression in chronic health problems, which is relevant to people with all conditions, including eye conditions. The glaucoma guideline also refers to patents being given information on support organisations and groups.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to involve children and young people in decisions regarding their care and treatment when in hospital relating to their mental health.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
All children and young people admitted to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Tier 4, both detained and voluntary patients, must have a care and treatment plan produced in collaboration with the young person, which represents their goals, wishes and feelings.
For those detained under the Mental Health Act when in hospital, several policies in the draft Mental Health Bill are designed to give greater autonomy to children and young people, where they are well enough and have the capacity and competence to make decisions themselves.
These reforms would place greater requirements on clinicians to consult with people close to the patient, such as the parent, in relation to care and treatment decisions and ensure that the patient’s wishes and preferences, beliefs and values are more central to clinical decision making.
The reforms would also enable a greater level of support and representation for children and young people, who would be able to choose their own nominated person to support and represent them. The right to an Independent Mental Health Advocate would also be expanded to all mental health inpatients, including voluntary patients, a significant proportion of whom are children and young people.
The draft Mental Health Bill has concluded the pre-legislative scrutiny process, and the Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill published its report in January 2023. The Government will respond in due course.