Standards for accessible information and communication

Forcing people to contact services by phone, poor deaf awareness and failure to provide communication support may result in missed appointments and ineffective care.

For example, NHS England estimates that the cost of people with hearing loss missing appointments is at least £14m every year.

Under the Equality Act 2010 (and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland), people have the right to expect reasonable adjustments to be made if they face substantial difficulties accessing NHS and social care services due to their deafness or hearing loss.

This section provides an overview of the national guidance and quality standards that aim to improve the accessibility of NHS and social care services for people who are deaf or have hearing loss.

Accessible Information Standard

Check you are meeting the legal requirements to make your services accessible to people with disabilities and sensory loss.

All Wales Standards for Accessible Communication and Information for People with Sensory Loss

There has been some progress since the All Wales Standards were published in 2013, but we’re calling for more.

Accessible Communications Policy

The NHS England Accessible Information Standard (AIS) was introduced in July 2016 and applies to all providers of NHS and publicly-funded adult social care.

Read our Accessible Communications Policy