Accessible Information Standard

The Accessible Information Standard (AIS) is a law in the UK that ensures people with disabilities or sensory loss receive information they can easily read and understand, and the communication support they need to access NHS and adult social care services. It requires organisations to identify, record, flag, share, and meet these information and communication needs.

Here is a more detailed breakdown:

What it is
  • The AIS is a formal standard for NHS and adult social care organisations to follow.
  • It mandates a consistent approach to managing information and communication needs for individuals with disabilities or sensory loss.
  • It ensures that people receive information in formats they can understand, such as large print, braille, easy read, or through a British Sign Language interpreter.
Why it's important
  • It aims to ensure equal access to healthcare and social care services for everyone.
  • It helps people with disabilities or sensory loss to understand information about their health and care and to communicate effectively with professionals.
  • It allows individuals to participate more fully in their healthcare decisions.
What organisations need to do
  • Ask: Identify individuals' information and communication needs.
  • Record: Clearly document these needs in a standardized way.
  • Flag: Alert staff to the individual's needs when they access services.
  • Share: Ensure information about these needs is shared with other relevant providers when appropriate, with the individual's consent.
  • Meet: Take steps to provide information and communication support to meet those needs.
Examples of support
  • Large print materials.
  • Braille documents.
  • British Sign Language interpreters.
  • Easy read versions of documents.
  • Communication support from an advocate.
  • Email.

Practical resources to help you with implementation

What is easy read?

Easy read is just one way of making information more accessible. It is a style of information often chosen by people with learning disabilities, although other groups can find it useful too.

There is no one way to make written information easy read but there are some general guidelines that are usually followed.

  • Who is the information for?
  • Using easy words
  • Use images to support the text
  • Large print
  • Plain fonts
  • Short sentences

Of course, easy read might not be the best choice for someone. Not everyone with a learning disability will find easy read useful. For some people it might be easier to talk to someone.

What guidance is available on the Accessible Information Standard?

Detailed NHS guidance on the Accessible Information Standard is available here: 

NHS England » Accessible Information Standard

NHS England » Accessible Information Standard – implementation guidance

NHS England » Accessible Information: Terminology

Meeting the Accessible Information Standard – Care Quality Commission

Shorter factsheets about the Accessible Information Standard are available here:

NHS England » Accessible Information Standard – accessible versions

The AIS Partnership Group

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside facilitates the Accessible Standard Partnership Group; some details are below.

Accountability  

The steering group makes plans, recommendations and shares best practice approaches and support / guidance on implementing the Accessible Information Standard across Cheshire and Merseyside. We collaborate with partners including NHS Cheshire and Merseyside corporate functions and Places, and wider system partners including Primary Care Networks, NHS Providers and Local Authority social care organisations. 

Membership 

Membership currently includes:  

  • Local Authority officers
  • Consultation communication and engagement lead (Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council) 
  • Communication and engagement lead (NHS Cheshire and Merseyside) 
  • Digital inclusion leads (Informatics Merseyside) 
  • EDI officer Cheshire and Merseyside (NHS Cheshire and Merseyside) 
  • EDI leads NHS Providers (Mersey Care and Liverpool University Hospitals)  
  • EMIS digital support 
  • Primary care network (PCN) information and marketing officers 

Aims and objectives

The aims and objectives of the group are to:

  1. Review requirements for AIS implementation following the national review
  2. Understand the relationship of the reasonable adjustment flag
  3. To work in coproduction
  4. Web accessibility – accessibility guidelines
  5. Ensuring information uploaded onto websites is accessible
  6. Developing a repository of training and resources to enable improved accessibility
  7. Accessible meetings and events guide
  8. Developing and formalising procedures across ICB and Place to access translation and interpretation (T&I) services (language, BSL, easy read and a range of different formats through the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside T&I framework)  
  9. Developing a how-to guide to support functions across ICB, Places and PCNs to improve accessibility and quality  
  10. Use of CYPHER at Place to support community-centred approaches and understanding accessibility needs, including average reading ages / adult literacy
  11. Feeding work into the digital exclusion / inclusion team 
  12. Communication at all levels and leadership
  13. Roll out the accessible information advocate programme developed in Sefton

Commissioning

ICB contracts include a requirement to meet the AIS. Contracts are monitored on a regular basis as per NHS Contract requirements. In addition, the Equality Impact Assessment process includes reference to the AIS and as such, requires consideration

5 Rights campaign

The 5 Rights campaign aims to: 

  • Increase awareness amongst NHS staff of the five core rights of all patients with communication needs and/or language barriers when accessing any NHS healthcare. 
  • Increase awareness amongst individual patients with communication needs, and their carers/relatives, about what their rights are when receiving NHS care – and how to ask to for/access the communication support they need. 
  • Support patients with communication needs to have a better overall experience of care.