Accessibility in health and social care hackathon

Background

We looked at the priorities identified by people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments in our Population Needs Assessment and discussed what needs to change and improve, so we can build strong and resilient communities for the future.

Key findings

People with lived experiences and professionals must work together to drive meaningful change.

During our hack-a-thon on accessibility in health and social care, we split everyone into groups to look at:

• Physical disabilities and accessible communities
• Accessible communication
• Living with hearing loss

Below we have shared some of the key findings from the hack-a-thon.

Physical disabilities and accessible communities

“Everyone needs to work together to make it happen”

The team worked together to create art and write a song to highlight the importance of accessible communities for people with physical disabilities.

Ideas for positive change included: 

• Work with partners to ensure people can get to appointments easily, and accessible support is available for when people arrive
•  Ensure accessible and up-to-date information is available to suit the person’s needs  – we must remember not everyone is online
• Availability of specialist primary care services to ensure people with disabilities get the right care
• Offer tailored support based on the person’s individual needs and desires, rather than giving everyone the same label

Accessible communication

“We need to use community facilities to bring the community together”

The group worked together to develop drama sketches about their experiences of communication.

Ideas for positive change included: 

• Creating consistent and accessible channels for communication – including use of different methods as not one size fits all
• Embedding co-production into practice so communities are directly influencing how services are  promoted and spoken about
• Services and organisations need to value the use of the creative arts to engage with people bringing the community together

Living with hearing loss

“Take away the cost of letting people learn our language”

The team put together a spoken word poem to bring to life their experiences and ideas.

Ideas for positive change included: 

• British Sign Language is its own language and culture –  communication needs to be developed with this in mind
• Text or email options should always be offered as a form of communication with health or social care services
• More awareness in communities about deafness or hearing loss to create deaf friendly communities
• Provide QR codes with links to videos with BSL instructions for accessing health services, and what is involved in procedures
• Provide a training framework for professionals working in health and social care, including mandatory modules
• Ensure health and social care support is tailored to meet the needs of deaf people and those living with hearing loss

How can services be improved?

In summary, people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments would like to see:

• QR codes on correspondence linking to British Sign Language videos with instructions for health and social care services e.g. procedures
• A training framework for people working with people who are deaf and hard of hearing
• Clear accessible information in multiple formats and provide good signage in spaces (including green spaces)
• Information shared in formats suitable for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, including by email and text message
• Appropriate support provided in health settings, for example a ‘buddy system’ so people who are deaf or hard of hearing can get the support they need quickly