10.8 Adult Social Care Accessible Information

1. Introduction

The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to take steps or make reasonable adjustments to avoid disabled people being substantially disadvantaged compared to people who are not disabled. This duty is also set out in the NHS Accessible Information Standard (AIS).

The AIS is compulsory for all publicly funded adult social care services. This includes local authority adult social care directorates, care homes, nursing homes, day care, and providers in the voluntary and community or private sectors. The AIS aims to make sure that people who need to have information in a certain format or require support, because of a disability, impairment or sensory loss, receive the support they need.

This is particularly relevant for people who:

• are blind or have some sight loss;
• have some hearing loss, are deaf / Deaf or deafblind;
• have aphasia (difficulty with language or speech);
• are autistic (see Working with Autistic Adults chapter);
• have a learning disability;
• have a mental health condition which affects their ability to communicate.

2. Accessible Information Standard Requirements

To meet the information and / or communication needs of people with a disability or sensory loss, there are five compulsory AIS requirements. These are to:

• identify an adult’s needs (see Assessment chapter);
• record their needs (see Case Recording chapter);
• flag their needs so that they are very visible in their social care record;
• share information about their needs with other relevant practitioners, where possible with the adult’s consent and in line with data protection legislation (see Information Sharing and Confidentiality chapter);
• take steps to meet their needs (see Care and Support Planning chapter).

The Data Protection Act 2018 underpins these requirements (see Data Protection chapter).

3. Who do Accessible Information Standard Requirements Apply to?

The AIS requirements, outlined in Section 2, Accessible Information Standard Requirements, apply to:

• anyone using Adult Social Care service who has information or communication needs due to a disability, impairment or sensory loss who is:
  • an adult in need of care and support;
  • the carer of an adult who is in need of care and support;
  • the parents or carers of a child or young person who is receiving services;
  • local authority staff when they are receiving a service;
  • anyone who has been delegated authority by the local authority to carry out its adult social care duties and functions.

See Appendix 1: Exclusions from AIS Requirements

When commissioning services for which AIS applies, the local authority should make sure that service providers know they must comply with AIS requirements and can provide evidence of such.

4. Requirement to Identify Information and Communication Needs

At the point of first contact with Adult Social Care, or if this is not practicable at the next point of contact, the adult and / or their carer should be asked whether they have any information and / or communication needs related to a disability or sensory loss.

If they identify they have such needs, they will be asked what information format and / or communication support they require to meet their needs.

There will be times when both an adult with care and support needs and their carer may have information and communication needs.

Enquiries will be directed to the adult / carer directly, unless there are circumstances where it is not practical to do so. In such circumstances, information will be sought from someone else who knows them well, for example a family member.

Staff should not assume that anyone who has said previously they do not have needs, continues to not have needs, or that their identified needs have not changed in between contacts.

Information and communication needs should be reviewed during subsequent contacts, for example when a care and support plan is reviewed, and interventions adapted as required.

5. Recording Requirements

Where information and communication needs are identified, the adult’s social care record / carer’s support plan should include:

• the type of support they require;
• how their needs are to be met;
• where information was provided by anyone other than the adult / carer, the person’s name and contact details and the reason why they are providing information on the person’s behalf;
• where relevant, consent from the adult / carer regarding communication support being provided by a family member or any person who is not a registered communication professional.

The social care record and care and support plan / support plan should be amended if it is identified that the adult’s or carer’s information and / or communication needs have changed.

6. Case Records Flag Requirement

An electronic flag (or equivalent alert for paper-based records) should be placed on the adult’s / social care record to make sure any identified information and / or communication needs are highly visible to anyone accessing the record.

The flag / alert should be amended if it has been identified that the adult’s / carer’s information and / or communication needs have changed.

7. Information and / or Communication Needs and Data Sharing

Recorded data about an adult’s information and / or communication support needs should be shared with other providers where necessary, to make sure that the adult’s care and support needs can be met. This should include any information / communication needs of their carer. Examples of routine data sharing include, but are not limited to, referral or handover processes or when the responsibility for meeting the adult’s care and support needs is transferred to another local authority. Adults and carers should be told how their information will be used and shared.

All personal information should be shared in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 (see Data Protection chapter).

8. Requirement to Meet Information and / or Communication Needs

The adult / carer’s identified information and / or communication needs should be met in an appropriate and timely way. They should receive:

• information in an alternative format which they can access; and
• the support they need to communicate with staff.

Adults and carers who require an interpreter or other communication professional should be offered a suitably skilled, experienced, appropriately qualified and screened professional (see Interpreting, Signing and Communication chapter). If the adult / carer wants to receive communication support from anyone else, their wishes must be documented in their record and respected whenever possible.

9. Complaints

As a first step, adults or carers who are not satisfied with Adult Social Care or with a decision taken by the directorate should:

• discuss their concerns with the staff member they are dealing with; or
• ask to speak to the staff member’s manager.

The local authority will try to resolve concerns quickly or explain why this is not possible.

If the concern is not resolved, or if preferred, adults / carers should use the local authority’s complaints procedure to make a formal complaint. See Complaints chapter.

Anyone who wants to make a complaint should be given information about they can do that. The information should be provided in a format accessible for their identified needs. Communication support should also be provided if the person has identified communication needs.

Appendix 1: Exclusions from AIS Requirements

The following are outside of the remit of the AIS:

• the needs of staff, employees or contractors (except where they are adults or carers receiving a service from the local authority);
• recording of demographic data / protected characteristics;
• recording of information / communication requirements for statistical analysis;
• expected standards of general social care communication / information (that is provided to individuals who do not have additional information or communication support needs);
• people’s preferences for being communicated with in a particular way, which do not relate to disability, impairment or sensory loss, and therefore would not be considered a ‘need’ or ‘requirement’;
• people who may have difficulty in reading or understanding information for reasons other than a disability, impairment or sensory loss, for example due to low literacy;
• expected standards, including the level of accessibility, of social care websites;
• ‘corporate’ communications produced / published by the local authority which do not relate to direct care and support or services, and do not directly affect people’s wellbeing;
• implementation of the Equality Act 2010 more widely. This includes other forms of support which may be needed by an adult due to a disability, impairment or sensory loss (for example ramps or accommodation of an assistance dog);
• provision of information in foreign languages – that is people who require information in a non-English language for reasons other than disability;
• matters of consent and capacity, including support for decision-making, which are not related to information or communication support;
• standards for, and design of, signage.