Key points
- You must make reasonable adjustments to examine patients who have a disability.
- Address people with a disability directly; do not speak to their companion instead of to the person with the disability.
- Do not assume that people who have a physical disability also have learning disabilities.
- Do not be embarrassed to ask the person with the disability what has caused the disability and whether this is permanent or temporary.
- Encourage the patient to transfer to the consulting room chair, if possible.
- Be flexible in your examination techniques and make notes of what works with this particular patient.
A105
This Guidance does not change what you must do under the law.