Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to the website of Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

This website is run by Queen Victoria Hospital. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

• zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
• we are also working to make 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 our website

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. We are aiming to meet international accessibility guidelines, but realise this may not always be possible, or we may have missed a problem we are not aware of.

Some of the content that is not yet fully accessible includes:

• some of our content with images does not have alternative text to provide more context on the intent and purpose of the images
• some PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software. We plan to fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

The website uses Userway to help improve the experience of using the website. This includes giving the chance to change the font size and how the text appears. We have chosen this accessibility tool as it also has a Dyslexia friendly function.

We are also considering developing a new website within the next two years to better meet accessibility standards.

Disproportionate burden

We have identified that our current website has several technical accessibility issues which may impact user experience (outlined below). We have tried to resolve as many as we can but to be fully compliant we will need to build a new website.

We believe that to fix issues on the current platform would constitute a disproportionate burden under the regulations and we will  focus on ensuring a replacement website meets regulation requirements. We intend to build a new website by mid-2025.

In the meantime, if any users with additional access needs require support please email us at qvh.communications@nhs.net

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact the communications team by email at qvh.communications@nhs.net

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read or audio recording:
email qvh.communications@nhs.net
call 01342 414508.

We will consider your request and get back to you in three working days.

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).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

We are working through resolving the following issues that were found in the re-test on 21 November 2023.

• WCAG 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap on the homepage at 400% zoom. We cannot resolve this issue to 400% on the current site
• WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible on all pages at 400% zoom. We cannot resolve this issue to 400% on the current site.

PDFs and non-HTML documents
Some of our PDFs are essential to providing our services. For example, forms published as Word documents. By 2025, we will either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages. Issues include missing text alternatives and missing document structure. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content and 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.

We are reviewing PDF documents that are essential for our services and aim to convert these to accessible resource pages or accessible alternatives before 2025.

Please note that some of our governance documentation and PDFs created for clinical professionals are not yet accessible:

• some combined PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software. This relates in particular to our board papers which are created by combining submissions in various formats from stakeholders. We are working to resolve this issue but if you need help to access the board papers in the meantime please email our Company Secretary.
• some policy PDF documents are not fully accessible. We are working on this. Please email our communications team if you require these in a different format.

We are also working towards making our patient information leaflets more accessible. This is part of a larger piece of work looking at our patient information. This project includes how we govern the information we provide patients, the structure and content of the information, and it being accessible for those who need it.

Accessibility review

Our website was reviewed by the Government Digital Service in the Cabinet Office in July 2023. View the report. Changes were carried out with support from Preview. Testing was carried out by browser testing and using https://accessibe.com.

Feedback and reporting problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please email our Communications team. We will respond to you within three working days.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 24 September 2020. It was last reviewed and updated on 26 January 2024. Preparation of the statement was carried out by browser testing and using https://accessibe.com.