Web Accessibility

Web accessibility enables individuals with disabilities or alternative needs to use the internet. It allows them to more easily understand content and navigate websites.

Those who may need extra assistance with web accessibility include those with auditory, visual, cognitive, neurological, or physical disabilities. These include blind or deaf people who will need to navigate web pages via voice, screen readers, or other assistive technologies.

Our website platform and website content are designed for general compliance with Web Accessibility best practice, and to the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) - and as set out in the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (link opens in a new tab). (WCAG).

Our website is designed to comply with the general requirements of WAI Compliance (v.2.2) AA standard wherever possible.

 

Our website was last tested for general accessibility on 4th March 2026.

 

In addition to our accessibility best practice approach, (for code and content), representative pages of our website were submitted via the 'WebYES' Accessibility Audit checker and to Google's Page Insights Accessibility tests. Our automated tests returned a 100% pass (no issues found) for the WCAG 2.2 AA Standard, and 100% for general accessibility respectively.

 

Note: There are some areas or content on our website that may only have partial compliance to the 2.2 AA accessibility standard. Some exceptions and the reasons for only partial compliance are set out below:

 

Non accessible PDFs: We make efforts to ensure that where we use PDF documents (Portable Document Format), they are accessible (with machine readable text). This may not always be the case - some older PDFs, or PDFs supplied by third parties may not be accessible. If a problem is encountered with the format or the content structure of a PDF document on our website - please contact us and we will offer assistance.

Video transcripts: Some health related videos on our website may not offer full subtitles or full transcripts - sometimes these are not available from the source or author of the video.

Dynamic content: Some active or dynamic page content such as news posts can occasionally have focus or visibility issues for screen readers. Importantly, where such dynamic content is displayed, a link is provided to all the applicable posts at the start or title area of the content section, so that all content postings can still be read clearly and sequentially.

3rd party plugins and features: Though generally we use NHS approved third party services, they themselves, and other 3rd party integrated tools and content (including social media content and interactive maps), can not always be guaranteed to meet AA accessibility standards.

 

We are always seeking to improve accessibility, if you have any issues at all using or understanding our website, please contact us for assistance.

 

Some core Accessibility and Usability features include:

 

  • Web pages are readable and navigable via voice, screen readers, or other assistive technologies.
  • Navigation and Menus have keyboard tabbing support.
  • Use of Alternative (Alt) Text for Images – used within a site’s HTML to describe the appearance or function of an image that appears on a webpage. Visually impaired users using assistive technologies such as screen readers will hear the alt text to understand what the image represents. Our website will also display alt text if it cannot load an image.
  • Where Portable Document Format (PDF) documents are used, we ensure wherever possible that they have accessible (machine readable) text.
  • Readability – text should be visibly clear and easy to read.
  • Comprehension – the text should be simply written, and easy to understand in plain English.*
  • Text resizing – (enlarging) to at least 200% should be supported and still preserve the structure, basic layout and readability of page content.
  • 400% Zoom (Reflow) – a requirement that in general, content must be able to reflow to a single column without requiring horizontal scrolling when zoomed to 400%.
  • Page and content headings are structured and hierarchical.
  • We prioritise a mobile-friendly or mobile-ready design – support for adaptable screen sizes, large touch targets, simple touch gestures, and simplified navigation.
  • * Our website also has multiple language support for those who are not native English speakers. As far as is possible, our language translator feature faithfully includes the main languages spoken by our documented patient cohort demographic.

 

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) logo (link opens in a new browwer tab)

 

 

 

 

W3C Accessibility Standards Overview (Links below open in a new browser tab):

https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/
https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/
https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-principles/

 

If you have a disability, search AbilityNet for "how to" guides to make your device easier to use.