10 years of the NHS Accessible Information Standard: is health information accessible to everyone?

News - 8 October 2026

The NHS England Accessible Information Standard (AIS) was introduced on 1 August 2016 to help ensure that people with disabilities, sensory loss or other communication needs can access and understand health and social care information. But, ten years on, does everyone receive health information in a way that works for them?

The Standard covers a wide range of needs, including receiving information in large print, Braille, audio or easy read formats, as well as access to communication support such as British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters. It applies across NHS and publicly funded adult social care services, including hospitals, GP practices, dentists providing NHS care, ambulance services and local authorities.

Ten years on, disability charities including the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) are highlighting concerns that implementation remains inconsistent. People with communication and information needs can still experience difficulties receiving important information in a format they can access – including appointment information, test results, medication instructions and other health correspondence.

The AIS was updated by NHS England in 2025, with clearer responsibilities for organisations and a new focus on regularly reviewing whether people’s communication and information needs are being met.

Accessible information is not simply about providing documents in different formats. Services are expected to ask people about their communication and information needs, record and flag those needs, share them appropriately, take action to meet them and regularly review them.

For residents, this means you can tell your NHS or care provider about your communication or information needs and ask for information in a format you can access and understand. If your needs are not being met, you can ask the service what reasonable adjustments can be made.

Have your say

RNIB is inviting blind and partially sighted people living in England to take part in a survey about their experiences of accessing healthcare information and communications.

The survey covers areas such as appointment letters, test results, medication information, communications from healthcare services and digital services such as the NHS App. It takes around 10–15 minutes to complete and closes on Tuesday 20 October 2026.

If you are blind or partially sighted and live in England, your experience can help highlight what is working well and where improvements are still needed. Please also consider sharing the survey with people in your networks who may be interested.

Take part in the survey: RNIB healthcare information survey

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