Test
Reasonable Adjustments
The Equality Act (2010) requires all organisations including education, health and social care to take steps to remove the barriers individuals face due to a range of disabilities including physical, sensory, cognitive, and mental health conditions.
Reasonable adjustments are changes that organisations and people providing services must make if someone’s physical or mental disability puts them at a disadvantage compared with others who aren’t disabled.
This means schools have a legal obligation to support disabled pupils with reasonable adjustments, making sure they can benefit from what the school offers in the same way as a pupil who isn’t disabled. In health and social care, organisations have a legal obligation to provide reasonable adjustments to make sure services are accessible to all disabled people.
Reasonable adjustments can sometimes be very small changes such as a longer appointment time or providing information in an accessible format such as easy read. They may mean adaptions to buildings such as fitting a ramp, lift or tactile signage or changes to policy or procedure.
Making reasonable adjustments can have a positive impact on the wider community and benefit other people. It is good practice and adds value to the service for everyone.
Health care reasonable adjustments may include:
- Making sure there is good access for people who use a wheelchair in health care buildings.
- Providing plain English or easy read appointment letters.
- Giving someone a priority appointment if they find it difficult to wait.
- Offering a longer appointment if someone needs more time to make sure they understand the information they are given.
- Having a quiet space available for people waiting for their appointment.
- Making sure there is a hearing loop system in consultation rooms.
- If the individual has a hearing impairment, ensure access to a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter is provided for all appointments. Where an in-person interpreter is not available, arrange for remote BSL interpretation via a secure internet video link.
- Using a communication chart to support a person who requires it during an appointment.
How to request a reasonable adjustment
To request a reasonable adjustment, ask your health team in person, on the phone or in writing, providing as much notice as possible. Some services may ask you to complete a form, but if not, it is a good idea to make sure there’s a written record of what you discussed in case you need to follow it up later.
When deciding whether an adjustment is reasonable, organisations can consider issues such as cost, practicality, health and safety factors, and whether the adjustment will achieve the desired effect.
Hospital passports
A Hospital Passport can be used to prevent patients and carers having to explain about their health multiple times with different services.
It is a document with important information about a person’s individual needs and preferences, particularly for those with learning disabilities, autism, or other conditions. It helps hospital staff understand how to best support them and what reasonable adjustments are needed.
Hospital passports can be created by practitioners working with individuals, parent carers or, where able, the individual themselves. There are templates available to use. Speak to the professional supporting you or your child to find out if there is a local template or visit the following webpages.
Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag
The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag is being developed to enable health and care workers to record, share and view details of reasonable adjustments across the NHS, wherever the person is treated. It is logged on the person's digital record.
Its advantages are:
- The Flag is immediately visible when the person is referred or presents for care.
- It ensures that details of disabilities and other key information (such as communication requirements) are shared (with patient consent) consistently across the NHS.
- It helps to ensure that adjustments can be put in place without having to repeat information to multiple practitioners.
- It can help to reduce stress for the person, the carer and those treating them.