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.

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:

https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

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.