Accessibility statement

The Communications Team at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust manages this website. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. Our aim is to provide accessible information and to make sure everyone can access and use our website. 

This page tells you how we make our website accessible and how we can help if you need information in a different more accessible way. 

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Trust is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This accessibility statement applies to the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Trust website.

How accessible this website is

We’ve made the text as simple as possible to understand. You should be able to:

  • Change colours, contrast levels and size.
  • Zoom in up to 300% 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 have accessibility software on our Website called Recite Me

Recite me helps anyone with sight loss, dyslexia or reading difficulties use the website by allowing you to change text, colours and backgrounds. It also has a magnifier, screenreader, reading ruler and audio (read aloud) function.

It also enables staff, service users or any website visitor to translate our web pages into 99 languages.

How to access Recite me

  • Click on the Recite Me button on the bottom left of the webpage:

Recite Me button.PNG

  • This will then launch the Recite me tool bar at the top of the page:

Recite Me Toolbar.PNG

For more information visit, ReciteMe User Guide ​​​​​​. ​

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.

Non-accessible content 

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible (all pages) 

- At 200% zoom the keyboard tabs through the hamburger menu when it is closed.

- The keyboard order of the focus when closing the hamburger menu can be confusing for users. The keyboard does not tab directly onto the close button. 

  • WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow: 400% & mobile view manual (all pages) 

At 400% zoom, the buttons for 'Cookie options' and 'Show accessibility tools' do not reflow to fit the webpage. The buttons overlap onto menu once it has been opened.

  • WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships: Tables (PDF)

-  PDF's are not correctly tagged.

  • WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text content (PDF)

-  PDF's have elements that are missing alternative text.

This is not a comprehensive list as we are still identifying some accessibility issues.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We plan to prioritise and fix issues highlighted in our recent audit and outlined in this statement. Measures include:

  • Conduct fequent audits across our site. 
  • Updating all PDFs to be accessible using Acrobat Pro accessibility checker. 
  • Ensuring all imagery is tagged with alternative text. 
  • Prioritising accessibility remedial work in all new development and improvement projects.
  • Ongoing improvement to the design/usability of the website focusing on accessibility.

How to ask for web content in an accessible format

If you need information in a different format, please contact awp.ais@nhs.net. Please provide the following details:

  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your name and email address
  • the format you need. For example, braille, BSL, large print, Easy Read.

For more information, please view our Accessible Information Standard page.

If you have a disability, AbilityNet gives advice on how to adapt your phone, computer or tablet to meet your needs and make it easier to use.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 28 March 2022. It was last reviewed on 15 September 2023. We used multiple resources to prepare this statement, with the main template being the Model Accessibility Statement.

This website was launched in March 2022. We followed the compliance standards during the development of the site with our developer Frank Health. 

This website was last tested on 15 September 2023 by the Government Digital Service. The sample of pages they chose to test can be found in their full report into Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. 

Feedback and contact information

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.

If you have feedback or have any problems not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact the Communications team – awp.communications@nhs.net

Enforcement procedure

If you contact us with a complaint about accessibility and you’re not happy with our response, you can 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 (the ‘accessibility regulations’).