Accessible Information Standard & Reasonable Adjustments - Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Click to view Emergency Department (A&E) waiting times

100 People

Number of people in A&E department

1:05 Hours

Average wait to be seen by a clinician

2:24 Hours

Average time in the department

Coming to Hospital

The Accessible Information Standard (AIS) is a mandatory ‘information standard’ for all organisations that provide NHS or adult social care.

Reasonable adjustments are a legal requirement to make sure health services are accessible to all disabled people.

The AIS aims to ensure that people who have a disability or sensory loss receive information that they can access and understand, for example in large print, braille or via email, and that they receive professional communication support if they need it, for example from a British Sign Language interpreter.

Patients may have a reasonable adjustments flag on their electronic health record, which will have been added with their consent.

Reasonable adjustments flags:

indicate what support patients need to help them use health services.
might also record details of the patient's physical or sensory disability

Please let the hospital department know if you have a disability, impairment or sensory loss, and the kind of information and communication support that you need. They will record this on your health records and will it help us prepare for the next time you use our services.

More information on the Accessible Information Standard is available in these formats:

We are committed to actively promoting equality of opportunity for all disabled people. We will work to ensure institutional systems do not discriminate, and that the day to day experience of disabled people entering the Trust as patients, staff, visitors or volunteers is positive.

We also recognise that disability is extremely diverse and that no one disabled person’s experience is exactly the same as another. We seek to ensure that we:

represent the full spectrum of disability issues in our actions to promote disability equality
remove the social and physical barriers faced by disabled people.

All information on these pages can be made available in large print or Braille on request - please telephone 0118 322 8338 or email our Patient Advice & Liaison Service: PALS@royalberkshire.nhs.uk.

Changing Places

The Changing Places facility is located in Royal Berkshire Hospital Level 1 by the main entrance; the toilet is locked with a key available 24/7 from security at Main reception on Level 2. AccessAble Accessibility Guide

Easy Read information

The Trust has also developed a range of Easy Read leaflets for patients with communication difficulties. If you would like any Trust information leaflet in Easy Read format please contact one of the Learning Disability Liaison Nurses via email: LearningDisabilityReferrals@royalberkshire.nhs.uk or call: 0118 322 8159.

For support to read this website, each page has the Reachdeck toolbar.

Macmillan Cancer Support have produced many useful easy read cancer information booklets for people with learning disabilities. These range from screening to having tests, treatments and end of life care.

Hospital Passport

The hospital passport is designed to give hospital staff helpful information about you. Download your hospital passport.

Your passport includes important information about you as well as your likes and dislikes and helps all the hospital staff know how to make you feel comfortable and safe. If you go into hospital, your hospital passport should go with you. The doctors and nurses should make a copy and put the copy in your hospital notes.

If you are going to be an inpatient, and stay in the hospital overnight, your hospital passport should be next to your bed so that anyone treating you can take a look at it.

Interpreters

Check whether an interpreter has been booked for your hospital appointment

Shared Decision Making

Health Education England have produced two easy read guides aimed at giving you the tools you need to have a conversation with a healthcare professional and make decisions with them on your care:

Getting ready to talk about your health - Easy read information to help you get ready before you talk to a health professional.
3 questions for better health - Easy read leaflet to help you have better talks with health professionals.