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 ensure greater deaf awareness among frontline NHS staff.

Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers have been expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. This includes support for deaf people and ensuring that British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters are provided when needed.

On 30 June 2025, NHS England published a revised AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss are met in health and care provision.

NHS England revised the AIS e-learning for health module to match the latest version of the standard to support effective implementation. This training module includes specific reference to the needs of deaf people and BSL interpreting.

NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication and engagement. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using services.