Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to content published on the www.nhstayside.scot.nhs.uk domain. It does not apply to other NHS Tayside websites.

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

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 400% 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

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 this website is

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

  • Horizontal scrolling is required at 400% zoom
  • The text will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window in mobile view
  • Some Portable Document Formats (PDF) documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software

How to request content in an accessible format

If you need information on this website in a different format like HTML, accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille contact us by email at tay.generalcomments@nhs.scot

When you contact us please tell us:
  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your name and email address
  • the format you need

Health information in different languages and formats – including BSL, Easy Read and translations can also be found on www.nhsinform.scot/translations

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, please email tay.generalcomments@nhs.scot

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).

Feedback and Contact

You can contact NHS Tayside by:


Contact Scotland BSL is a Scottish Government service that connects deaf BSL users throughout Scotland through an online BSL interpreting video relay service (VRS) with all of Scotland’s public authorities and voluntary organisations (Third Sector). Find out more about using Contact Scotland BSL.

For more information about ways to contact us visit our Contact Us page.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

NHS Tayside 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 listed below.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Pages do not support reflow at 400% or in mobile view. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.10 Reflow: Content can be presented without loss of information or functionality, and without requiring scrolling in two dimensions. We are unable to fix this in the current product.

 

Some Portable Document Formats (PDF) documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software. We are unable to fix this in the current product. Specific issues include:
 
  • Many of our PDFs have diagrams and/or tables. Some of these do not have a text alternative, so the information in them is not available to people using a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
  • Many of our PDFs do not contain fully tagged content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion PDF3: Ensuring correct tab and reading order in PDF documents.
  • Many of our PDFs do not identify headings, lists or data tables correctly. This means users using screen readers may not be able to follow the structure of a document, which may affect their ability to access and understand the information. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
  • Many of our PDFs do not contain the necessary correct tab order. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion PDF3: Ensuring correct tab and reading order in PDF documents.
  • Many of our PDFs contain figures which do not have alternative text. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion PDF1: Applying text alternatives to images with the Alt entry in PDF documents.

Disproportionate burden

There are two areas where we believe that the burden associated with addressing accessibility issues would be disproportionate to the benefit:

  • Fixing reflow issues in mobile view and horizontal scrolling at 400% zoom
  • Fixing PDF documents

We are unable to fix the reflow issues in the current product. This can only be addressed with a new website.

We are also not able to make PDFs accessible in our current product as our content management system converts the majority of files to PDF at the time of upload and there is no option to make them accessible in this process.

We are currently in the early stages of exploring options for a new website which should solve these issues. This is dependent on available resources and funding.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other 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 our archived committee reports.

Video

Some of our older videos may not feature captions. Many of our videos are embedded from YouTube. These may feature labelling from YouTube which are incorrect or not sufficiently descriptive – you can visit our YouTube channel to see more of our videos.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Work is ongoing to:

  • regularly test and fix issues found such as contrast and link purpose issues
  • publish information in HTML where possible, rather than PDF
  • regularly remind staff of the importance of accessibility, and how to make their documents accessible
  • explore options for a new website

Preparation of this Accessibility Statement

This statement was prepared on 6 February 2024.

This website was last tested in February 2024. The test was carried out by the UK Government Digital Service using a mixture of simple manual checks and automated tests to find only the most common barriers to users with accessibility needs. 

Manual checks included using each page without a mouse, viewing the page at different zoom settings, and simulating viewing the page on a small screen.  The automated tests were completed using the latest version of Axe.

Tests were completed using different settings in the Google Chrome browser on Mac OSX with a 13 inch screen.

We will perform quarterly basic manual checks and Siteimprove.
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Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

1926 - 2022