NHS England has confirmed that all providers of NHS and publicly funded health and social care services in England must fully implement the reasonable adjustment digital flag information standard by 30 September 2026. This applies to homecare providers delivering publicly funded care and therefore has direct implications for Homecare Association members.
The reasonable adjustment digital flag is a national record held in the National Care Records Service that indicates an individual requires reasonable adjustments and can include details of their significant impairments, key adjustments and underlying conditions. It is designed to support compliance with the Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people have equitable access to health and care.
Implementation is being taken forward in two phases, with full conformance required by 30 September 2026. In Phase 1, providers must ensure they can identify, record, flag, share, meet and review reasonable adjustments on their own local systems and records, including using interim paper processes if necessary with subsequent digital coding. In Phase 2, providers must be able to send and receive reasonable adjustment information via the reasonable adjustment digital flag through the National Care Records Service, working with their IT suppliers to complete technical onboarding and integration standards.
The national checklist sets out the practical actions required of all providers, which include developing policies and procedures, establishing processes for record keeping and sharing, and conducting staff training.
