Under the Equality Act 2010, Health and Social Care organisations have a duty to make changes in their approach or provision, called reasonable adjustments, to ensure that services are as accessible to people with disabilities as they are for everyone else. This duty aims to address the recognition that people with disabilities may have equal access to care and services, but without specific adjustments being made, that access may not be equitable.

NHS England has created the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag in the NHS Spine to enable health professionals to record, share and view details of Reasonable Adjustments across the NHS, wherever the patient is treated. The flag indicates that Reasonable Adjustments are required for an individual and optionally includes details of any significant impairments, underlying conditions and key adjustments that should be considered.

The flag aims to enable:

• Clear identification of all patients for whom Reasonable Adjustments may be required.
• Identification of patients with impairments including learning disability or autism.
• Identification and sharing of key adjustments that will help a care episode go well or happen at all.
•  Consistent visibility and structure of the information – Wherever a patient is treated in health and social care.

The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag is a visible marker on a patient’s record which identifies the changes that need to be made by health and care services to make services as accessible for disabled people as they are for everyone else.