Website accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to www.gosh.nhs.uk.

This website is run by the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust.

We are aware that disabled people may have difficulty using our website and we are very sorry for this. We are continuously making improvements and wish to do everything we can to help you whilst we are working to resolve them.

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

• it is not always possible to set individual cookie preferences with assistive technology 
• there are no options to change the colour contrast
• there are no options to change the text size
• there is no sitemap
• the navigation is inconsistent and some elements, such as sidebars, appear below the main page content
• some images are lacking appropriate alt text 
• some links are missing, broken, display or behave inconsistently
• there is an inconsistent and, at times, incorrect use of ARIA labels
• some elements of the pages are obscured or cannot be accessed at 200% zoom
• some pages are difficult to navigate due to headings being displayed in the wrong order. 
• many PDF documents are not accessible to assistive technology
• some of our online forms are difficult to complete using just a keyboard or similar assistive technology
• some videos start playing automatically without any way to pause it 

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us: 

Email: website.updates@gosh.nhs.uk

We aim to return all priority enquiries within 24 hours.

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

Email: website.updates@gosh.nhs.uk

We will consider your request and get back to you within one working day

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).

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children 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.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

A detailed audit of this website has been carried out and each page has been tested for the following areas. Each of these either directly or indirectly affects the accessibility of the website. 

• Website Accessibility Errors Priority A
• Website Accessibility Errors Priority AA
• Website Accessibility Errors Priority AAA
• Website Accessibility Errors for Screen Readers
• Website Coding Errors that affect Search Engines
• Website Coding Errors (W3C Standards)
• Usability and Navigation Issues

In addition, a thorough manual evaluation of different aspects of this website has been undertaken.

If you would like a copy of the full accessibility report, please contact us:
Email: website.updates@gosh.nhs.uk

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

• Headings should not be empty.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A 1.3.1)
• Elements with role=tablist must contain or own an element with role=tab and must not contain elements with other roles.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A 1.3.1)
• Users should be able to use a keyboard to access all content and functionality of a web page.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A 2.1.1) 
• A video plays longer than 5 seconds, without a way to pause it.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A 2.2.2)
• Users should be able to navigate a web page in an order that makes sense
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A 2.4.3)
• iframe and frame elements must have a title attribute.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A 4.1.2)
• Element div is missing one or more required attributes.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A 4.1.2)
• ARIA hidden element must not be focusable or contain focusable elements
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A 4.1.2) 
• alt text should not contain placeholders like 'picture' or 'spacer'.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F30)
• alt text should not be an image file name.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F30)
• An image with a null alt attribute should not have title, aria-label or aria-labelled by attributes.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F39)
• Several links on a page share the same link text and surrounding context, but go to different destinations.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F63)
• Removing the underline from links makes it hard for color-blind users to see them.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F73)
• Links must have an accessible name.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F89)
• Identify row and column headers in data tables using the elements, and mark layout tables with role=presentation.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F91)
• The visual label must appear in the accessible name of links and controls.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F96)

We aim to resolve these issues by December 2024.

• Ensure that text and background colors have enough contrast.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AA 1.4.3)
• Text must be able to be resized up to 200 percent without loss of content or function.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AA 1.4.4)
• Content can be presented without loss of information or functionality (Reflow)
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AA 1.4.10)     
• Provide two or more ways to reach each page: via links, search, a site map or table of contents.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AA 2.4.5)
• Keyboard focus is not visible
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AA 2.4.7)   
• The CSS outline or border style on this element makes it difficult or impossible to see the link focus outline.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AA F78) 

We aim to resolve these issues by December 2024.

None.

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. For example, we do not plan to fix Annual Reports or Accounts from prior to 2018.

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 December 2024, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

If you have found a document that is not accessible and you wish to receive an accessible version, please email website.updates@gosh.nhs.uk and we will aim to provide an accessible version within 2 working days.  

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

• Audio description is provided for all pre-recorded video content in synchronized media.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.1 AAA 1.2.5 )
• Sign language interpretation is provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.1 AAA 1.2.6 )
• Ensure that text and background colors have a 7:1 contrast ratio.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA 1.4.6)
• Don't use CSS animations or transitions in interactions without giving the user a way to turn them off.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA 2.3.3)
• Several links on a page share the same link text, but go to different destinations.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA 2.4.9)
• Clickable targets must be at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA 2.5.5)
• Avoid specifying a new window as the target of a link with target=_blank.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA F22)
• Link uses general text like 'Click Here' which doesn't explain link purpose.
  (Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA F84)

• Cannot use aria-label or aria-labelledby on elements and roles that prohibit naming.
  (Fails under ARIA 1.2)
• iframe with title attribute doesn't work in some screen readers.
  (Fails under NVDA 2022.2 NVDA 2021.2 NVDA 2020.2 NVDA 2019.2)
• Users should be able to quickly look at each link and tell where it goes.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 10:1)
• Use link text between 3 and 100 characters so it's long enough to be understood, but avoids line wrapping.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 10:11)
• Avoid underlined text - people will click on it and think it's a broken link.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 10:4)
• Use italic text sparingly - for one or two words or a short phrase.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 11:10)
• Use bold text sparingly - for one or two words or a short phrase.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 11:5)
• Use at least a 12-point font on all web pages.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 11:8)
• When items are numbered, start the numbering sequence at one rather than zero. One or more ordered lists on this page do not start at one, or is not sequential.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 12:7)
• Capitalize the first letter of the first word in lists.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 12:9)
• Use option groups when a drop down list has more than 10 items.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 13:12)
• Radio buttons are easier to use than drop-downs when there are 6 choices or fewer.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 13:9)
• Omitting img width or height attributes makes the page layout jump about as images load.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 14:3 W3C)
• To enhance readability, sentences should be 20 words or less, and paragraphs 6 sentences or less.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 15:7 Readability Guidelines)
• Provide a search option on each page of content-rich web sites.
  (Fails under Usability.gov 17:4)
• a element placeholder link with no event handler or href attribute doesn't work in some screen readers.
  (Fails under VoiceOver macOS 12.5 VoiceOver macOS 11.5 VoiceOver macOS 10.15 VoiceOver macOS 10.14)
• Keep URLs shorter than 78 characters so they don't wrap when emailed.
  (Fails under W3C) 

We plan to identify and fix issues, which fail the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 A and AA standards by December 2024.

We plan to identify and fix issues, which fail the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AAA standards by December 2024.

We plan to identify and fix other issues raised in the audit by December 2024.

We will update the accessibility statement when issues are fixed or when we expect them to be fixed. 

This statement was prepared on 9 November 2023.  It was last reviewed on 17 November 2023.

This website was last tested on 12 October 2023.

The test was carried out by Clive Loseby and his team of disabled testers at Access by Design, using a combination of automated and manual methods.

The full audit, along with this accessibility statement, was prepared and produced by Clive Loseby, Access by Design. 

If you wish for a copy of the audit please contact us:

Email: website.updates@gosh.nhs.uk