Website Accessibility Statement

This Accessibility Statement applies to the website domain whh.nhs.uk 

This website is provided by Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WHH).

We want as many people as possible to be able to use the website. That means you should be able to: 

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings 
  • zoom in up to 400 per cent without the text spilling off the screen 
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software 
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver) 

We aim to make the website text as simple as possible to understand, however, we know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. Some documents linked to from the site have not all been checked by screen reader software – these are mostly in our 'About us' section and statutory information and we can provide information in alternative formats on request.

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact the Trust’s Communications and Engagement Team using the contact details provided on this page and request that your email be forwarded to the Head of Communications and Engagement. 

If you need information on this website in a different format, for example, accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille: 

Email: whh.communications@nhs.net 

Call: 01925 664222 

We will consider your feedback and respond to you within five working days. 

Measures to support accessibility  

We take the following measures to ensure the accessibility of whh.nhs.uk:  

  • Accessibility is a key pillar of our Working with People and Communities Strategy.  
  • We provide accessibility training for staff editing the website.
  • Accessibility checks are integrated into our development process. 
  • We regularly evaluate our website’s accessibility, both internally and with external audits. 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility 

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 outline requirements for digital content accessibility and focus on improving usability for people with disabilities. WCAG defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. 

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust website is fully/partially compliant with WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Partially compliant means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard. 

Technical specifications 

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust uses the following technologies to support accessibility: 

  • HTML 
  • WAI-ARIA 
  • CSS 
  • JavaScript 
  • Umbraco CMS - this is used to manage content and has been configured to support accessible content creation, including proper use of headings, alt text for images, and accessible form elements. 

Non-accessible content - limitations and alternatives

Despite our best efforts to ensure the accessibility of whh.nhs.uk, there may be some limitations. Below is a description of known limitations and potential solutions. During the website development we have not had the resources available to conduct a full review and update all the following to ensure they meet accessibility guidelines:

Known issue 1: Some images may lack text alternatives. 

Solution: We are working to review all images to ensure appropriate alternative text alternatives are provided by 30 September 2024.

Known issue 2: Board and Council of Governors meeting papers and agendas and other statutory reports which are not accessible PDF or Excel files.

Solution: We are exploring resource to conduct a review of documents by 31 December 2024 and can provide information in alternative more accessible formats on request.

Known issue 3: The form to request Subject Access Requests/Access to health records is in a MS Word format due to the requirement for a ‘wet signature’.

Solution: We will explore if alternative electronic forms or forms in alternative accessible formats can be provided by 31 December 2024.

Known issue 4: We have linked to other credible external sources of information that we believe will be useful for our patients but cannot guarantee that this information complies with accessibility guidelines.

Solution: We will work with external providers of information to source accessible content for our patients on request.

Please contact us if you observe an issue not listed on this page. 

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations 

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

We will be conducting a review to ensure that any future PDFs or MS Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards. 

Assessment approach 

We evaluate the accessibility of Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust website through the following methods: 

  • self-assessments and internal testing 
  • external user testing 
  • developer testing 

Formal complaints

If you require assistance using any part of our website or wish to file a formal complaint regarding accessibility, please contact us: 

Email: whh.communications@nhs.net 

Call: 01925 664222 

We are committed to resolving accessibility issues and ensuring a positive experience for all users. 

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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS). 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

This statement was prepared on 17 September 2024.  

This website was last tested on 17 September 2024 against the WCAG [2.2] AA standard. The test was conducted on the Trust's behalf by Informatics Merseyside.

Last updated: Wednesday 18 September 2024