Overview
This accessibility statement applies to the Hoylake and Meols Medical Centre website (www.hoylakeandmeolsmedicalcentre.co.uk).
We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. This means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser functionality
- zoom in up to 400 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
We also try to make the website text as simple as possible to understand. If you have a disability, you can search AbilityNet for “how to” guides to make your device easier to use.
PDFs
PDFs may not be fully accessible to screen reader software. We try to restrict their usage but this is not always possible. There may be times we publish a PDF that has come from outside the practice which will not be under our control regarding compliance. If you’re having problems using these PDFs, please call the surgery for advice.
Other parts of the website that are not fully accessible
These include:
- some online forms that are not easy for screen readers to navigate
- some links and images that are not self-explanatory to screen reader users
- our patient survey tool, where some screen readers may not announce content correctly and some speech recognition software may not be able to select form fields easily by giving standard verbal commands
- links to websites or software that we do not own or manage and so cannot guarantee their accessibility
Feedback and contact information
You can call us if you have an accessibility query including:
- if you have any problems accessing information or using this website
- if you have any positive feedback about this website’s accessibility
We aim to respond in 5 working days.
Alternative formats
We’ve designed our content to be as accessible as possible.
If you need information on this website in a different format, like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or Braille, please call us.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days.
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 call us to report this. This helps us improve.
Enforcement procedure
If you contact us with a complaint and you are not happy with our response, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 on legislation.gov.uk (the “accessibility regulations”).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
We’re committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the accessibility regulations.
Compliance status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
PDFs
- The structure of the content is not always available to assistive technology, which makes the content difficult to understand and navigate for users of screen readers
- The reading order of the content is not always logical, which means some content does not make sense when read out by text-to-speech software
- Images do not always have text alternatives, which means some content is not available when using text-to-speech software
3rd-party components
- Some screen readers may not be able to fully read the eConsult popup window on the home page
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
Creating an accessible service is a team effort. We want to make all of our services accessible services by:
- considering accessibility at the start of their project, and throughout
- making accessibility the whole team’s responsibility
- researching with disabled users
- using a library of accessible components and patterns
- carrying out regular accessibility audits and testing
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was updated in May 2023.
This website has been tested internally against level A and AA success criteria of WCAG 2.1. Content was selected to make sure a good representation of different pages, templates and components were tested as well as key content and user journeys.
This website’s accessibility will be reviewed on a regular basis. The most recent review took place in May 2023. We will update this accessibility statement with any relevant changes.
Accessibility checklist
The information below details what we have checked throughout our website to meet the WCAG standards:
Text content
- Proper heading styles
- Pages useable when stylesheets disabled
- Instructions are styled correctly
- Links are descriptive
- Page titles are clear
Images, video and audio content
- Images have descriptions
- Images don’t contain meaningful text that can’t be read by screen readers
Interactive tools and transactions
- Form fields are marked up appropriately
- Clear what information users need to provide
- Form elements are consistent across the website
- Error messages are helpful
- Users can review their answers before submitting a form
- Form elements behave as expected
PDFs and other documents
- Documents have meaningful titles
- Headings exists where applicable
- Documents convey instructions in an accessible way
- Link text explains where user will go
- Images, charts and tables have a description
Technology
- Page orientation works when using a mobile phone or tablet
- Able to navigate using one finger
- No complex motions required to browse site
- Navigation highlighting when using keyboard
- Tabbing works in a logical order
- No unexpected actions/triggers when tabbing through pages
- No ability to ‘be stuck’ on a page
- Forms are usable with a mouse
- Main content visible without requiring user to skip over other elements
- Content usable when zoomed in
- Page behaves correctly when zoomed in
- Pop-ups can be minimised
- Multiple ways to navigate the website available
- Navigation behaves consistently
- Links require a down and up event to open
- Some minor elements do not have the expected contrast values to meet the WCAG guidelines
HTML checks
- Tables and bullet lists are styled properly
- Content language is mentioned in HTML