Accessibility statement

How we are making our website more accessible

This accessibility statement applies to https://www.Imperial.nhs.uk, https://www.cc4c.imperial.nhs.uk/, https://www.careinformationexchange-nwl.nhs.uk/ and https://www.nwl-acute-provider-collaborative.nhs.uk/accessibility.

This website is run by Imperial College Healthcare 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:

• Change page colours and contrast levels 
• Change font size
• 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.

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How accessible this website is

Accessibility standard

We follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG) published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and aim to meet WCAG’s Level AA recommended level of conformance standards across our website.

We regularly measure and review the accessibility of our website using a variety of browser plug-ins and external vendor assessments

Screen readers

We have run tests to ensure all page types on this website are accessible via a NVDA screen reader.

Text size

You can can choose to make the text larger (or smaller) by changing the text size option using the toggle switches displayed above.

Keyboard navigation

We have run tests to ensure users can navigate the website by using a keyboard.

Google translation

We have added Google translation to our site so you can view our content in different languages. Imperial College Healthcare NHS accepts no liability for the accuracy of translations on this site or reliance upon information contained in those translations.

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Requesting information in a different format

Our content can be provided on request in large print or easy read, as a sound recording, audio-description, in Braille or in alternative languages. Please email the communications team: imperial.communications@nhs.net

We will review your request and respond within three working days.

If you cannot view the map on our Contact us page, please call our switchboard (020 3312 6666) for directions.

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Reporting accessibility issues

We are committed to improving website accessibility. If you encounter any problems or believe we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact:

📧 Email: imperial.web@nhs.net

Your request will be handled by the Trust’s Communications Team.

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Technical accessibility information

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is committed to making its website accessible, in line with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Our website is written in HTML5 and CSS, and conforms to World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) accessibility guidelines. This includes:

• Providing information in a natural written language, with code or markup that defines structure and presentation clearly.
• Ensuring pages can be viewed from the major browsers
• Enabling screen readers to navigate through the content easily
• Provide text alternatives for non-text content
• Providing the function to change the size of the text

HTML5 is a defined mark-up language for webpages to help ensure that they display correctly in current browsers and future browsers too. 

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Compliance status

We strive to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. However, our website is only partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard, due to the following non-compliances and exemptions:

• Images (WCAG 1.4.5 - Images of Text):

  • All images include alternative text (alt text) where they provide important information.
  • Decorative images have empty alt text, following best practice.
  • Some images containing text will be redesigned or replaced to meet accessibility standards.

• PDFs and patient information leaflets (WCAG 2.4.2 - Document Titles):

  • Some PDFs, including patient information leaflets, do not meet accessibility standards--most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • We are working to resolve these issues and ensure compliance
  • the text will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window
  • you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
  • video streams do not have captions
  • some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
  • you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader
  • there’s a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our ‘contact us’ page
• Navigation and accessing information

  • There’s no way to skip the repeated content in the page header (for example, a ‘skip to main content’ option).

  • It’s not always possible to change the device orientation from horizontal to vertical without making it more difficult to view the content.

  • It’s not possible for users to change text size without some of the content overlapping.

• Interactive tools and transactions

  • Some of our interactive forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard. For example, because some form controls are missing a ‘label’ tag.

  • We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues with navigation and accessing information, and with interactive tools and transactions. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment when the supplier contract is up for renewal, likely to be in 2026.

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Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 22 March 2021. It was last reviewed on 16 June 2023.

This website was last tested on 20 March 2023. The test was carried out by Government Digital Service as part of public sector website monitoring.

Our website was chosen from a random sample to be monitored public sector websites by them. 

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Our plans to improve accessibility

While the website was compliant at launch, we are undertaking an enhanced accessibility audit with BeingOnline. Over the coming months, we will:

• Remove text embedded in images where possible.
• Improve accessibility of patient information leaflets and essential PDFs.
• Ensure compliance with the latest WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

We are committed to making our website as accessible as possible for all users.

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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 contact: imperial.Web@nhs.net.

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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). 

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Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

In order to make our services more accessible to people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment we have three numbers which can be used to reach a member of staff directly without having to encounter an automated menu selection via the UKRelay service (Relay UK - homepage | Relay UK (bt.com).

Outpatient appointments/admissions

020 3313 5000
i.outpatientappointments@nhs.net
i.admissions@nhs.net

Available Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm

Main Switchboard

020 3311 1599
i.switchboard@nhs.net

Available 365 days per year 24 hours per day.

Patient advice and liaison service (PALS)

020 3312 7777
imperial.PALS@nhs.net

Available from Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm

Please do not use these numbers if you are not D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment since our staff members will be expecting a UKRelay member of staff to join the call and misuse will be preventing those in need from accessing services.

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us by email imperial.interpreting@nhs.net before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.