— This survey has now closed. —
You can help us improve access to healthcare by taking the 2021 Accessible Information Standard Survey.
In August 2016, the NHS announced that all organisations that provide NHS care and/or publicly-funded adult social care must adhere to the Accessible Information Standard (AIS). The Standard established a clear, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing, and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, caregivers, and parents with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.
It has been five years since the Accessible Information Standard came into effect. As a coalition of charities, we have come together to review how the Standard has impacted patient experiences. Are there any consistent gaps in implementation? Which formats continue to be difficult to access? Are complaints procedures accessible?
SignHealth has partnered with Sense, RAD, RNIB, LDEngland, Visionary, RNID and HealthWatch on this project to answer these questions and find solutions with insights from patients and health services across England.
We Need You
If you live in England and your preferred language is BSL, please take this survey. You can help us understand what is going well for patients and what changes still need to happen. The survey will only take 5-10 minutes and there is an option to respond in BSL.
If you are a health professional in England, especially working in service management, reception or administration, we hope you will take our survey or share it with your relevant colleagues. With just 5 minutes, your input will help us understand trends in implementation of the Accessible Information Standard. We will not ask you to identify which service you are responding from, and we hope you feel confident in sharing which aspects of the standard are not being fully adhered to. This review will support efforts to find solutions and resources to support longterm compliance and reduce the health inequalities that poor access can lead to.
Accessible Information Standard Survey
Please email Abigail Gorman if you have any questions or would like to access this survey in an alternative format – agorman@signhealth.org.uk
The data collected in the survey will be stored and used by SignHealth. You will not be asked to provide your name or to identify the NHS service for which you are responding. To find out more about our commitment to data protection, please see our privacy notice.
Would you like to support this review?
The Standard impacts health and social care access for many different groups and we would love for more organisations to join us! Please contact Abigail Gorman at agorman@signhealth.org.uk
As an individual there are 5 ways you could make a big difference:
- Take the survey
- Share the survey. On social media, or send the link in an email or WhatsApp text to people you know who need accessible information. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FJWD7F
- Ask your GP or other NHS services that you are connected with to take the survey. If they’re doing a good job on this, tell them so, and ask that they fill it in to help us share their insights with others. If they’re failing, it will at least remind them of their obligations.
- Sign up to our mailing list, we’ll keep you updated on the results and next steps in this campaign
- Donate – to us or any of our amazing partners campaigning for better access to healthcare.
Thank you for your help!
Organised by a coalition of charities including:
How healthy are Deaf people?
Sick Of It is SignHealth’s ground-breaking report uncovering the health disparity Deaf people face in the UK. Published in 2014, the report has influenced policy and changed practices in the NHS to improve communication and reduce barriers.
Report: Sick Of It
