Access for All

On 24th May 2016, Healthwatch Waltham Forest attended a conference with other local Healthwatchs across North, East and Central London to share the findings from a project aimed at raising awareness of the barriers faced by people who have communication difficulties. We discussed the Accessible information Standard which all NHS England and adult social care services must follow from the 31st July 2016. The Standard tells health professionals what they must do to improve communication and accessibility for people with a disability or sensory loss. The NHS have made a video about the top tips for communicating with deaf patients. Healthwatch Waltham Forest is also involved in projects including a recent focus group with deaf people on how pharmacies can better meet their needs.

We continue working on ensuring services are accessible to all patients, and most importantly that patient engagement is fully accessible; so that everyone’s voices can make a change.

You can watch an overview of the Access for All conference: