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1        Accessibility statement for https://www.nhsborders.scot.nhs.uk/

This accessibility statement applies to the https://www.nhsborders.scot.nhs.uk/website.

This website is run by NHS Borders.

2        How you should be able to use this website

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. 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)

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

3        How accessible this website is

Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

  • some pages and document attachments are not written in plain English
  • some tables do not have row or column headers
  • some documents have poor colour contrast
  • some heading elements are not consistent
  • some images do not have image descriptions
  • some images used to convey information have poor colour contrast 
  • some information in tables cannot be reached with a keyboard
  • many documents in PDF format may not be accessible. 

4        Feedback and contact information

Tell us if you need information in a different format by contacting us using the details on our Contact Us page.

In your message, include:

  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your email address and name
  • the format you need - for example, plain text, braille, BSL, large print or audio CD

5        Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting the accessibility requirements, contact us by emailing bordershb@borders.scot.nhs.uk

6        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).

7        Technical information about this website’s accessibility

NHS Borders is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

8        Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

9        Non-accessible content

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

10    Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  1. Images on some pages do not always have suitable image descriptions.Users of assistive technologies may not have access to information conveyed in images. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
  2. Some tables do not have table row or column headers. This means assistive technologies will not read the tables correctly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  3. Some pages use images of text instead of text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.5 (Images of Text).
  4. Some images of text that are used as links have image descriptions that don’t include all of the text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.3 (Label in Name)
  5. The page title is missing in the PDF document this fails WCAG 2.4.2 
  6. Info and Relationships: Tables (PDF) this fails WCAG 1.3.1 
  7. Non-text content (PDF) this fails WCAG 1.1.1 

Many documents are in non-HTML formats, for example PDF. They are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.

View our contact details to report any problems or request documents in an alternative format.

11    Disproportionate burden

Some of the content used to apply for some types of licence is non-accessible. The non-accessible content is published on a platform which we are migrating from within the next six months. We believe that fixing the problems causing content to be non-accessible on the old platforms would be disproportionate.

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

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.

13    What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are working in collaboration with NHS National Services Scotland to fix content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard.

14    Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 12 November 2024. It was last reviewed on 17 December 2024.

This website was last tested in November 2024 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. This test of a representative sample of pages was carried out by NHS National Services Scotland staff.

We also used findings from our own testing when preparing this accessibility statement.

15    Updates to this page

Last updated December 2024