{"id":9832,"date":"2022-06-28T14:34:15","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T13:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?page_id=9832"},"modified":"2025-12-09T13:49:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T13:49:48","slug":"access-to-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/about-us\/research\/potential-and-possibility-research\/potential-and-possibility-2023\/access-to-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"Access to healthcare for people with complex disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">For the 2023 update to our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/for-professionals\/policy-public-affairs-and-research\/potential-and-possibility-research\/\">Potential and Possibility research<\/a><\/strong>, we asked people with complex disabilities about how accessible they find healthcare settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">On this page, you\u2019ll find out more about how they believe services can be improved and designed to best support them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">Read on to find out what our participants had to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">For more information, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/for-professionals\/policy-public-affairs-and-research\/potential-and-possibility-research\/health-and-wellbeing\/\">check out our research into the health and wellbeing of people with complex disabilities in the UK<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Meeting information and communication needs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright is-style-primary-tint-10\"><blockquote><p>\u201cI\u2019m deaf and they insist on all appointments by phone, so I don\u2019t ask questions and keep it as brief as possible. It\u2019s very unsatisfactory.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">People with complex disabilities use a range of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/communication\/\">communication methods<\/a>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.england.nhs.uk\/ourwork\/accessibleinfo\/\">Accessible Information Standard<\/a>&nbsp;should mean that people\u2019s information and communication needs are met at all times in health and social care settings, such as GP or hospital appointments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">Our evidence shows that this isn\u2019t always the reality for many people with complex disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"is-style-primary-bullets wp-block-list\">\n<li>34% of people with complex disabilities are rarely or never asked about what they need to make their appointments accessible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>19% of people said that they rarely or never get appointment letters in a format they understand.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>25% of people with complex disabilities said they rarely or never have communication support arranged for them if they need it. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-secondary-tint-10\"><blockquote><p>\u201cI use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/communication\/makaton\/\">Makaton<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/communication\/sign-language\/\">British Sign Language (BSL)<\/a> to communicate. Always have to go with my mum. GP never try to talk to me directly. No accessible information provided.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Support from staff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">Some people also shared their experiences of frustration with medical staff who are not always understanding of their condition and needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\"><strong>19% of people with complex disabilities told us that staff rarely or never meet their needs at medical appointments.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">Supportive staff can make all the difference for people with complex disabilities. They can make appointments run smoothly, and reduce worries about medical treatments more broadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-grey-tint-10\"><blockquote><p>\u201cIf I see a doctor that knows me well I feel more confident about it as they know how to support me in an accessible way.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flexible appointments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright is-style-primary-tint-10\"><blockquote><p>\u201cDuring the pandemic having over the phone appointments were much better. Energy-wise it is really hard to spend two hours getting to and waiting for a ten minute appointment. Wheelchair access is not always sufficient.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">People with complex disabilities told us that flexibility in the way appointments are delivered is important, especially when it comes to waiting times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\"><strong>21% of people with complex disabilities say that their medical appointments rarely or never happen in a way that is accessible to them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">The move to remote appointments has been good for some people who find this less stressful, but for others it is very difficult to communicate with professionals without being face-to-face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n  <div class=\"wp-block  box    is-style-textured-grey-tint-10\">    <div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About this research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Potential and Possibility is an annual piece of research on the experiences and aspirations of people with complex disabilities. The research involves polling, our own survey and insights from audits of Sense services. This year (2023) is the second year we have carried out this research.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These pages reflect the latest information from our 2023 research, building on our findings from 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">If you have any questions about the research please contact <a href=\"mailto:policy.research@sense.org.uk\">policy.research@sense.org.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In our 2023 research, we asked people with complex disabilities about how accessible they find healthcare settings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"parent":50485,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-page-with-section-nav.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"content_label":[],"class_list":["post-9832","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9832\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"content_label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_label?post=9832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}