Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS services are available to people who read using braille.

From 31 July 2016 all providers of National Health Service care and publicly funded adult social care have been required to meet the Accessible Information Standard, published by NHS England.

This requires all organisations to:

- Ask people if they have any information or communication 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 their needs should be met;

- 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; and

- Take steps to ensure that people’s needs are met, including receiving information which they can access and understand, and communication support if they need it. This includes providing information in Braille where identified.

Further information can be found on NHS England’s website and accessed via the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/