Accessibility

We aspire to make our services accessible for all. That's why we have a number of different options in place to support people to access our services. This includes;

• AccessAble - AccessAble produce online accessibility guides to buildings, sites & venues across the UK – including many hospitals, shops, tourist attractions and universities. Click here to find out more about AccessAble and view our online guides.
• Website accessiblity guidelines -  We're committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
• Interpretation and Translation services - We will provide face to face interpreting, instant telephone interpreting, document translation; and British Sign Language interpreting for those first language is not English or who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss.
• Accessible information standard - If you require information in an alternative format, please get in touch so we can arrange this for you.

We aspire to make our services accessible for all. That's why we have a number of different options in place to support people to access our services. This includes;

• AccessAble - AccessAble produce online accessibility guides to buildings, sites & venues across the UK – including many hospitals, shops, tourist attractions and universities. Find out more about AccessAble and view our online guides.
• Website accessiblity guidelines -  We're committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
• Interpretation and Translation services - We will provide face to face interpreting, instant telephone interpreting, document translation; and British Sign Language interpreting for those first language is not English or who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss.
• Accessible information standard - If you require information in an alternative format, please get in touch so we can arrange this for you.

Website accessibility

Everyone should be able to access our services, including our websites. This accessibility statement applies to all websites managed by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust. Including;

• www.hacw.nhs.uk
• www.startingwellworcs.nhs.uk
• www.healthyminds.whct.nhs.uk

The W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and the NHS Accessible information standard help us make our services better for you. That means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible is this website?

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software.
• some of our older videos do not have captions/subtitles.
• we use auto translation for our videos and animations which may misinterpret some instances of the voiceover. 
• some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard

Browser compatibility

This site has been developed and tested in several desktop and mobile device internet browsers using Responsive Web Design techniques. This means that you should be able to comfortably view the site on either a computer screen, smartphone or tablet. However compatibility may be impacted if you are using an older device.

PDFs and other closed file formats

We know that not all PDFs are fully accessible to screen reader software. Where possible, we have reduced the use of PDFs and other closed file formats. Some older documents may still be in PDF format. If you are having any problems accessing these documents please contact us using the details at the bottom of this page so we can provide this information in an alternative format.

Contact us

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille please get in touch;

• Email: whcnhs.communications@nhs.net
• Write: Communications Team, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, Charles Hastings Way, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR5 1RJ
• Phone: 01905 681517

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. Contact us if you have an accessibility query including:

• Issues with accessing information or using this website
• An accessibility problem not listed on this statement
• Any positive feedback about this website’s accessibility

Please direct your feedback to

• Email: whcnhs.communications@nhs.net
• Write: Communications Team, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, Charles Hastings Way, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR5 1RJ
• Phone: 01905 681517

How we tested this website

This website was last audited in November 2019. The test was carried out by VerseOne Technologies Ltd.

Note: In order to establish website compliance with WCAG 2.1 the Auditor uses specialist adaptive software and browser technologies for testing purposes; together with the inbuilt accessibility tools provided by VerseOne Technologies Ltd which have been incorporated within the website.

We tested our main website platform, available at www.hacw.nhs.uk

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).