Accessible Information Standard in M14

The Accessible Information Standard aims to make sure that people who have a disability or sensory loss get information that they can access and understand, and any communication support that they need.

AIS tells organisation how they should make sure that patients and service users, and their carers and parents, can access and understand the information they are given. This includes making sure that people get information in accessible formats. The Standard also tells organisation how they should make sure that people get support from a communication professional if they need it, and about changing working practices to support effective communication.

Healthwatch Manchester visited eleven (11) pharmacies in the M14 area which incorporates Fallowfield, Rusholme, Moss Side, Ladybarn, and Victoria Park. Most pharmacies expressed a willingness to comply with the NHS AIS at the time of our visits, only A&A Pharmacy in Rusholme refused to comply.

Out of the ten pharmacies who allowed us access, only two had at least a vague knowledge of what the AIS is. Numerous times on our visits to these pharmacies the staff members told us they didn’t know what the AIS was and therefore were unaware of their obligation to provide options for hearing impaired service users for instance.

Therefore we concluded that the staff and pharmacists in these pharmacies all need further training on what the AIS is and what the requirements are for this. Furthermore, more of the pharmacies in the M14 area need to purchase a hearing loop for hearing impaired patients as only one of the pharmacies we visited informed us that they had one.

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