Accessibility statement

Accessibility statement for Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s website www.cwp.nhs.uk.

This accessibility statement applies to Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s website and the following microsites:

This website is run by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation 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 colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser functionality
  • Zoom in up to 200 per cent 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
  • Interact with most of the website using a screen reader (including recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We also try 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.

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

  • PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software

Feedback and contact information

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. Contact us if you have an accessibility query including:

  • Issues with accessing information or using this website
  • If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille
  • An accessibility problem not listed on this statement
  • Any positive feedback about this website’s accessibility

We cannot guarantee uninterrupted access to this website, or the sites to which it links to. We accept no responsibility for any damages arising from the loss of use of this information.

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 Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust by email: 
cwp.essential@nhs.net.  

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, you can request these through the contact us page.

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 British Sign Language (BSL) service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. If you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, you can do this by contacting your healthcare professional before your visit or by getting in touch through our contact us section.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership 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. Please note, Google Translate is not compatible with earlier versions of Microsoft Edge browser.

Non-accessible content- non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The content that is not accessible is listed below together with an explanation and reference to the relevant WCAG section.

Insufficient alt text

  • Images that do not contain sufficiently descriptive alt-text are not compliant with WCAG 2.1. Some images contain text which cannot be read by assistive technology, such as screen readers. (Non-text content, 1.1.1)

PDFs and other documents

  • The structure of PDFs and some other documents is not always available to assistive technology, which makes the content difficult to understand and navigate for users of screen readers. (Info and relationships 1.3.1)
  • Images do not always have text alternatives, which means some content is not available when using text-to-speech software. We aim to correct over time as we review the website. (Text alternatives 1.1.1)

Content is not within the scope of the applicable legislation

Disproportionate Burden

Not applicable - we have not claimed a disproportionate burden for the purposes of this regulation.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Located at the bottom of every page is our accessibility toolbar, labelled 'Show accessibility tools' which toggles to ‘Hide accessibility tools’ to stop it from being visible. 

Click on the toolbar to view various accessible options, including:

  • Text size
  • Contrast

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 28 June 2022. It was last reviewed on 29 September 2023.

This website was last tested June 2022 by FRANK Digital, the tools used for testing were: WebAim WAVE Chrome Extension and the following assistive technologies - JAWS and NVDA.

This website was also reviewed on 13 June 2023 by the Government Digital Service. The sample of pages they chose to test can be found in their full report into Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s website.

Browser Support

Browsers have lots of extension options, such as the ones listed on this website (although some do have a small cost).  Here is a useful article on Understood.org.  

Chrome

  • Click on the three dots in the top right corner to open the menu

  • Click on "more tools"

  • Click on "extensions"

  • Clicked on burger menu top left corner (three black lines)

  • At the bottom of the menu clicked on ‘open chrome web store

  • Search for the extension, we used ‘Read Aloud’.  (It is important you use an extension that is well reviewed and has a large number of uses.  Frank can't guarantee their effectiveness.)

  • Click "Add to Chrome"

FireFox browser

  • Firefox has a built-in ‘Reader View’ button, next to the address bar at the top of the browser.   

  • ‘Reader View’ displays the page’s main text content with simple styling and no distracting clutter. 

  • On the left of the text are tools allowing you to listen to the page read aloud or change the text size.

  • There are also extensions that can be installed, for example those listed on the Mozilla website.

Safari browser (desktop)

  • In the Safari application menu, go to Edit > Speech > Start speaking.

  • You can choose to read the whole page (including the navigation and everything else), or you can click the'reader view' icon if you only want to read the main page content.

Microsoft Edge browser

  • Clicking on 'Settings and more' in the top right corner of the Microsoft Edge browser will bring up the 'Read aloud' option, which will enable you to have text from web pages read to you. Several voices are available to choose from. More information is available from Microsoft here.

Operating Systems

Some Operating Systems have built in options:

Android devices: TalkBack

  • TalkBack is an Accessibility Service for Android which helps blind and vision-impaired users interact with their devices more easily. 

  • The application adds spoken, audible and vibration feedback to your device. 

  • TalkBack provides spoken feedback as you navigate around the screen, by describing your actions and informing you of any notifications.

  • It is a system application and comes pre-installed on most Android devices. The application is updated when the Accessibility Service is improved.

  • Read about howw to turn on TalkBack on your Android device.

Apple devices: VoiceOver

  • VoiceOver is a fully featured screen reader for Mac, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.  

  • It is already built-in to the operating system, so you don't need to download any additional software.

  • VoiceOver reads aloud everything on the screen including documents and web pages. 

  • It enables the navigation of your computer or device by keyboard or touch alone.

  • Read more information about Apps which work well with VoiceOver here.

NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access)

  • NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) is a free, downloadable screen reader available in a number of languages. 

  • It can read everything on the screen aloud in a synthesised voice enabling you to use your computer using just the keyboard or a combination of keyboard and mouse.

  • The software can also be installed and run from a USB pen drive and supports the use of a braille display.

  • The software is free to download and use, but a donation to support further development can be made.

  • Go to the NVDA website for more information and to download it.