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Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to nth.nhs.uk

This website is ran by North Tees and Hartlepool 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 or device settings
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We also aim to make the website text as simple as possible to understand.

If you have a disability, AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use.

How accessible this website is

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

  • Some older PDF documents may not be fully accessible to screen reader software

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

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 email [email protected].

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 have audio induction loops in key areas of the organisation.

If you contact us before your visit we can also arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter both in person, or online which can be booked in advance.

An interpreter can be requested on your behalf by our clinical staff as part of a planned admission. You can contact us before your visit to arrange through our patient experience team.

Other service contact information can be found on our contact us page.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation 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 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below:

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Some of our PDF and Word documents do not meet the required accessibility standards. If you require a PDF or a Word document in an accessible format such as large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please email [email protected]. These documents do not meet the following success criterion:

  • 1.3.1 Info and relationships
  • 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
  • 1.4.5 Images of text
  • 1.4.12 Text spacing
  • 2.4.6 Headings and labels

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. We are planning to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages or online forms.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

PDF, word and non-HTML documents

Some documents are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content and 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.

We will be reviewing PDF documents that are essential for our services and aim to convert these to accessible resource pages by 2026. Where possible we are replacing any new PDFs or Word documents with HTML pages or an accessible PDF.

If you use assistive technology and need a version of any document from this website in a more accessible format, please email [email protected].

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

PDF, Word and non-HTML 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. By 2026, we are planning to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

We have Google Maps integrated into our website. As Google Maps is third party content, any accessibility related issues cannot be fixed by our trusted supplier, therefore is exempt from accessibility regulations.

Disproportionate burden

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.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish going forward will meet accessibility standards.

If you use assistive technology and need a version of any document from this website in a more accessible format, please email [email protected].

What we’re doing to improve our accessibility

We are aware that there are still some changes that need to be made and we will look to make these changes to the website over the coming months.

All PDFs have been through accessibility checks – but will be converted to HTML by 2026.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 15 October 2022. It was last reviewed on 11 December 2024.

This website was last tested on 1 October 2024 against WCAG 2.2. The test was carried out by Mixd.

As our website contains thousands of pages, we selected a sample of pages to test based on average use, volume of traffic, and content type. We tested the following pages as they contain our main features used across the site:

If you require the full accessibility test report, please email [email protected]

Page last reviewed: