Accessible communication and information standards in healthcare (WHC/2025/038)

Status:

• Compliance – NHS Bodies.
• Action – GP Practices.

Category:

• Workforce.
• Estates.
• Quality and safety.
• Legislation.
• Governance.
• Performance.
• Delivery.
• Information technology.
• Planning.
• Public health.
• Policy.

Title:

All-Wales NHS accessible communication and information standards.

Date of expiry or review:

22 September 2027.

Action by:

Welsh NHS bodies.

Required by:

22 September 2025.

Sender:

Cariad Hazard Deputy Director, Cross-cutting Strategy, and Policy and Corporate Business.

Welsh Government contacts:

Lewis Owen and Becky Gorman,
Equality Team,
Health Social Care and Early Years Group
HSCEYG.EqualityTeam@gov.wales

Enclosures:

All-Wales NHS accessible communication and information standards (including a standard operating procedure for interpretation and translation, and an updated accessible information standard for GPs)

Accessible communication and information standards in healthcare

Accessible information standard (AIS) for GP practices

Standard operating procedure: commissioning interpretation and translation services in primary and emergency healthcare

The All-Wales Standards for Communication and Information for People with Sensory Loss (the Standards) were implemented in 2013 to dismantle barriers to healthcare for people with sensory loss. In 2023, Welsh Government reviewed the effectiveness of the standards and explored the barriers faced by people when accessing healthcare.

In collaboration with representatives from NHS Wales and external partners, the Welsh Government developed recommendations and actions aimed at removing barriers and ensuring the communication and information needs of patients, service users, parents and carers are consistently met. In October 2023, the Minister for Health and Social Services approved the recommendations to broaden and renew the 'All-Wales standards for accessible communication and information for people with sensory loss'.

The renewed standards are now called the 'All-Wales NHS accessible communication and information standards', and will now also include:

• patients whose main language is not English or Welsh
• patients who have language and communication barriers due to disability, dementia, mental health conditions or learning difficulties
• patients who have language and communication barriers arising from neurodivergence
• patients who have language and communication barriers arising from low literacy
• and parents and carers (of patients) who have language or communication barriers

The standards now include a set of measures and indicators that NHS bodies will be required to collect data for, and provide updates against, as part of their biannual strategic equality plan policy assurance reports.

The Accessible Information Standard (AIS) has also been updated to reflect the renewed standards and will now form part of the wider accessible communication and information standards package.

A standard operating procedure for commissioning interpretation and translation services has also been developed to sit alongside the standards to ensure consistency and quality when providing health services in community languages.

The Welsh Government will be working collaboratively with NHS bodies and stakeholders to ensure that implementation is effective and efficient in addressing the communication and information needs of all patients and service users.

Health boards and trusts are expected to put in place arrangements to ensure these standards are fully adopted and include processes to receive, collate and respond to concerns expressed from their health community where these standards have not been upheld.