Accessibility
"Accessibility is about making sure your service can be used by as many people as possible"
WCAG 2.2 (Level AA) Compliant
From the 23rd of September 2020 the websites of public sector bodies, including GP Surgeries, were required to meet a certain accessibility standard (WCAG 2.1, Level AA). Since October 2023, the required standard is WCAG 2.2 Level AA.
The system powering our websites has undergone rigorous testing to ensure that patients of all abilities will be able to use them.
As part of our service we regularly review our Practice Websites to pick up on and correct issues including accessibility problems such as:
- Non-compliant font usage
- Images that are being used to convey information with no other way of accessing that information being provided
- Missing alternative text on images
- Colours that do not pass the colour contrast requirements
- Formatting that has been brought across from another source (ie in text copied from a Word document)
- The text surrounding a link not clearly describing its destination or purpose
We have expanded this service to include:
- Documents uploaded since 23rd September 2018 that do not pass WCAG tests
We are also happy to answer any questions you may have to help you stay compliant.
Features
Our sites include the following accessibility features:
- Full compliance with prevalent online accessibility standards
- Text resizing controls
- Language translation into a choice of over 60 languages
- Comprehensive site search
- Compatibility with screen readers
- Browsealoud option
Do you support accessibility overlays?
Although our websites are compatible with third-party accessibility toolbars (eg ReciteMe, Userway, AccessiBe), there are strong reasons not to use them. Many of these are covered in the following article from SCOPE - Why accessibility overlays do not improve site accessibility. The NHS guidance on ‘creating a highly usable and accessible GP website for patients’ includes the advice “remove accessibility toolbars and widgets”.
There is no substitute for making a website natively accessible and we have done a huge amount of work to ensure our templates are fully accessible. Periodic content checks are run against website content to ensure any added content is accessible. If you have asked us to manage the website for you, we also ensure that any content, images or documents you ask us to upload are corrected for accessibility where required, at the point of being added.
Language Translation
Allows your patients to easily translate the language of your site into a choice of over 60 languages.
Text Resizing Buttons
Text resizing buttons allow users to adjust the size of text on the page to make it easier to read.
