Accessibility Statement

for NHS Somerset

As a public sector organisation, there is a legal duty to make sure websites and apps meet accessibility requirements.

This statement applies to https://nhssomerset.nhs.uk/

This website is run by NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board. 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’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

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

How accessible this website is

We have identified the following features on our website which are not fully accessible:

  • Most PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • Most Word documents are not fully accessible
  • Some of our videos do not include transcripts
  • There are some contrast issues with the buttons
  • Not being able to zoom in to 400% and still access all parts of the page

What to do if you can’t access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format like an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please email somicb.communications@nhs.net or call 01935 384022.

We will consider your request and get back to you within 10 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website 

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website and are continuing to audit our content as we go along. If you find something that you are unable to access, or we have failed to identify a barrier, please let us know.

If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please email somicb.communications@nhs.net

Enforcement procedure  

If you are unhappy with the response you have received from NHS Somerset about your accessibility related issue, you can make a complaint to NHS Somerset by emailing somicb.complaints@nhs.net.

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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility 

NHS Somerset 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 not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA, due to the non-compliances listed below.

 

Disproportionate burden

PDF and Word documents

Most of our PDF and Word documents do not meet accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.2 AA). This includes our Governing Body, Primary Care Commissioning Committee and Annual Report papers. We have reviewed these documents and the costs of recreating them in an accessible format. We believe that doing so would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. If you require any of our PDFs in an accessible format, please email somicb.communications@nhs.net

YouTube video clips

NHS Somerset have developed videos and some them are without any captions and transcripts, and this will be the case for some of them before March 2020. However, we’re in the process of going through our video clips and have included the option of having captions on through YouTube, and are including transcripts where we can.

Content that is 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. For example, we do not plan to fix documents such as the 2018/2019 annual report.

However, we recognise that there are a number of PDF and Word documents that are essential to the organisation. In these cases we are asking individuals to email us at somicb.communications@nhs.net  if they require a document in an alternative format.

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).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

NHS Somerset ICB 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

The website does not meet most requirements of the WCAG 2.2 AA standard, and is not compliant.

The NHS Somerset ICB website is not compliant due to:

  • non-compliances - this means the content in question is in scope of the regulations, but there’s an accessibility problem with it
  • an exemption - some inaccessible content is out of scope of the regulations and it’d be a disproportionate burden for you to make it accessible

Non accessible content 

WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow

  • All pages- At 400% zoom, it is not possible to read all of the content within the cookie banner as the content now overflows the visible part of the screen and cannot be scrolled. This is still an issue when 'Preferences' is expanded as content is not visible

WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose

  • All pages- This issue now refers to the 'Privacy Policy' link within the cookie banner

WCAG 2.4.2 Page titled

  • The page title is missing within the settings of the PDF document

WCAG 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) at 200%

  • Keyboard tabs onto links with the cookie banner still open. The links behind the banner are obscured.

WCAG 3.1.1 Language of Page

  • The language is missing within the settings of the PDF document

WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships

  • There are tables in the document that do not have correctly marked up headers.

WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text content

  • The document has elements that do not have alternative text

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: Claire Mykura-Aybar at somicb.communications@nhs.net.

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.

How we tested this website

This statement was updated following a review by the government's accessibility monitoring team in June 2025.

This website was last audited on 14 September 2020. The test was carried out by our trusted agency and our staff undertaking manual checks. We have not carried out any testing since then.

As our website contains hundreds 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:

What we’re doing to improve our accessibility

We will be training the communications and engagement team and content editors of the website, ensuring that they understand the new accessibility regulations and what is required of them.

We are aware that there are still some changes that need to be made to the website and we are looking to make improvements by March 2026.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 20 June 2025. It was last reviewed on 20 June 2025.

This website has not been tested against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard but issues were flagged in a government review of the site.

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