Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether GPs are required to ensure that patient letters are provided in a format that is readable for blind and partially-sighted people.

NHS England published the Accessible Information Standard (formally called SCCI1605 Accessible Information) in July 2015.

Compliance with the Standard is a legal duty and organisations that provide NHS care or adult social care – including general practice – are required to implement the Standard in full by 31 July 2016, and then ensure ongoing compliance thereafter.

The Specification for the Accessible Information Standard sets out a series of requirements that organisations that provide NHS care and/or publicly-funded adult social care must follow. These required actions can be summarised as five key steps, which all ‘applicable organisations’ must complete. They must:

1. Ask people if they have any information or communication needs, and find out how to meet their needs;
2. record those needs clearly and in a set way;
3. highlight or flag the person’s file or notes so it is clear that they have information or communication needs and how to meet those needs;
4. share information about people’s information and communication needs with other providers of NHS care and adult social care, when they have consent or permission to do so; and
5. take steps to ensure that people’s needs are met, including receiving information which they can access and understand, and communication support if they need it.

The Standard is expected to have particular impact for people who are blind, deafblind or have visual loss.