The scope extends to:
•Individuals (patients and service users, and where appropriate the parents and carers of patients and service users) who have information and/or communication support needs which are related to or caused by sensory loss. This includes:
o Needs for information in ‘non-standard’, alternative or specific formats
o Use of specific or alternative contact methods
o Arrangement of support from a communication professional (for example a British Sign Language interpreter)
o And support to communicate in a different or particular way/to use communication aids (for example to lip-read or use a hearing aid).
The following aspects, which may be considered relevant to improving the accessibility of health are explicitly out of scope:
•The needs or preferences of staff, employees or contractors of the organisation (except where they are also patients or service users (or the carer or parent of a patient or service user);
•Individuals’ needs for being communicated with in a particular way, which do not relate to sensory loss and as such would not be considered a ‘need’ or ‘requirement’ (for example, a need for communication via e-mail, but an ability to read and understand a standard print letter);
•Individuals who may have difficulty in reading or understanding information for reasons other than having sensory loss, for example due to low literacy or a learning difficulty (such as dyslexia);
•Expected standards, including the level of accessibility, of health websites;
•‘Corporate’ communications produced/published by organisations which do not relate to direct patient/service user care or services and do not directly affect individuals’ health or well-being;
•Implementation of the Equality Act 2010 more widely i.e. those sections that do not relate to the provision of information or communication support. This exclusion includes other forms of support which may be needed by an individual due to sensory loss (for example ramps or accommodation of an assistance dog);
•Foreign language needs/provision of information in foreign languages – i.e. people who require information in a non-English or Welsh language for reasons other than sensory loss.
Where this information is recorded in any system, this should adhere to the standard outlined. All new NHS Wales procurements must also adhere to this Standard.
The standard also applies to correspondence and messages used to transfer information from one system to another, where this functionality currently exists, for example in the referral letter to pass the information recorded in the GP system in primary care to the patient administration system in secondary care.