Hearing Impairment: Health Services
(asked on 6th October 2020) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech to the Royal College of Physicians of 30 July 2020, whether his Department plans to issue guidance to (a) NHS Providers and (b) social care providers on remote appointments and their obligations to meet the communication needs and preferences of people with hearing loss and deafness under the Accessible Information Standard.
All organisations that provide National Health Service care and/or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss. The latest guidance is set out at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/
In their letter of 31 July, NHS England and NHS Improvement provided guidance that included a clear expectation that digital services would be developed in an inclusive manner. This inclusive approach needs to take account of the needs of those for whom digital services may not be accessible or present accessibility issues, including for deaf and other disabled people. The letter is available at the following link:
Work is being developed with NHSX to specifically assess the needs of digitally excluded groups and how digital services can be adjusted to provide the widest possible access, while acknowledging that a mixed approach is necessary and non-digital channels must also remain available.