Accessibility statement
This accessibility statement applies to https://www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk/ This website is run by West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- translate the page to a selected language
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- simplify and/or customise site options to suit your needs so that the screen displays only the main text
- zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
- convert selected text into an MP3 audio file
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader and be able to customise voice speed
ReachDeck is a web accessibility toolbar and provides instant access to supportive
features that allow you to personalise how you access our content. The
ReachDeck icon appears on most sections of our website. Just click on the icon
at the top of the screen (pictured right)
and the toolbar appears. On mobile devices, you may see a shorter toolbar at the
bottom of the screen but the functionality is the same.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
We strive to check and ensure the website text and content is as simple as possible to understand and our patient information pages are appraised and reviewed by our Patient Panel
How accessible is this website?
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:
- some older PDF documents might not be fully accessible
- some older online forms might not be fully accessible
- some areas of the website might not be fully accessible when using a screen reader
- text displayed as a graphic without an alt tag (provides a text alternative for images to help screen readers)
- older web pages that don’t use semantic HTML (which gives context to screen readers)
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format please email westherts.communications@nhs.net or contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 01923 217198 or westherts.pals@nhs.net We will respond to you in 20 days. For some requests our response time will be less than 20 days if the document includes a deadline or closing date.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact westherts.communications@nhs.net
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).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
We provide a text relay service for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment – simply prefix numbers with 18001 and refer to the list of contact numbers on this website. Some of our departments have audio induction loops. Please contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) for further information and regarding interpreting and translation enquiries.
Call 01923 217198 or email westherts.pals@nhs.net Our PALS team are available between 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS 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 because some content might not be fully accessible as described under “How accessible this website is”. We strive to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and have a plan underway to address this.
We are working on adding text alternatives for all the images and this is being monitored. When we publish new content we will ensure our use of images meets accessibility standards.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents.
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. For example we do not plan to fix or replace Trust Board papers or press information published prior to September 2018.
We are working towards ensuring that any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards. Please contact us on email westherts.communications@nhs.net to request an alternative version.
Live video
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We strive to improve accessibility across as many sections of this website as possible. We are undertaking an audit and will update this statement to reflect further improvements.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 22 September 2020 and it will be regularly reviewed following an audit and site testing process.
