Accessibility statement

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is committed to making this website accessible. This is in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This accessibility statement applies to content published on cornwallft.nhs.uk domains.

Compliance status

This website is fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We aim to identify and fix issues on a continuous basis.

Since August 2022 we have worked hard to make sure our site is accessible. We have reviewed our content and refined the navigation. We have made technical changes to ensure we comply to WCAG 2.1. We are happy to be viewed as one of the most accessible NHS Trusts by specialists such as the Silktide Index.

All images used in this site include descriptive alternative text. This means that visually users receive a description of any images. If they use a screen reader, it will read the description to them. A screen reader is a piece of software. It helps visually impaired people to access and interact with digital content.

In November 2024 we fixed hundreds of issues. These allow users of screen readers and keyboard only users to more easily navigate our site.

Our website allows its users to change the contrast of the site. Users can view the site in either black or blue font on a yellow background. Or with a yellow and blue font on a black background. Select the accessibility tools box to activate this function. This appears at the top right of each webpage.

Our Communications Team manages the website. Its design should make it easy to use by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and simple to understand. Users are able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels, and fonts
  • 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 use language our users understand. We use plain English and research which words work best for them. We aim for a reading age of 9 to 11 years old. However, some of our content is technical for example and written for medical professionals. This means we may use technical terms. We only try to do this when we cannot make the wording simpler without changing the meaning.

AbilityNet has advice to help you make your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Non-accessible content

Identified issues

This is not a comprehensive list. We continue to identify accessibility issues.

  • Some pages and documents have a reading age higher than 12 (WCAG 2.0 AAA 3.1.5).
  • Some interactive controls are not larger than 44×44 pixels (WCAG 2.1 AAA 2.5.5).
  • Some elements do not have focus styles; for example the links within the Care Opinion and CQC widgets on the home page (WCAG 2.0 AA 2.4.7).
  • We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from the accessibility regulations.

Many of our documents are not accessible. For example, they may be missing text alternatives and a document structure. From 27 November 2024, if we upload documents that are not accessible, we will add them to the list below. We will also add them to our corporate risk register.

  • January 2025 Board of Directors' meeting papers. Published 13 January 2025.
  • December 2024 Council of Governors meeting papers. Published 29 November 2024.

Issues with technology

Most of our website works correctly on any web technology.

However, this website no longer supports Internet Explorer. This is because Internet Explorer is at the end of its lifecycle. Read more about the withdrawal of Internet Explorer.

Partial compliance

Our site makes use of third-party tools and widgets. We try to make to ensure third-party software or documents comply with at least the WCAG AA standard. However, this is not always possible. For example, we have to use the Care Quality Commission widget on our homepage. This widget fails the for Focus Visible (WCAG 2.1 AA 2.4.7) success criteria . We have fed this issue back. We will update this statement to reflect any changes.

Disproportionate burden assessment

We have assessed that it would be a disproportionate burden to fix all the documents we have published on our website since 23 September 2018.

Most of these documents are not viewed very often. They are therefore unlikely to negatively impact users with disabilities or impairments. For this reason, we do not believe the cost of time, effort and resource to fix these documents is justified. As we review and update documents, we will make them accessible.

We will ensure that new documents are accessible. We will pay special attention to our documents about essential services. We will do the same for documents that address the needs of, or are meant for, people with disabilities.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 2 December 2024. We used multiple resources to prepare this statement. It is based on the model accessibility statement.

How we tested this website

We have used tools like Lighthouse to ensure compliance. We also use Silktide to monitor our site for compliance.

We constantly test this website for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1 level A, level AA, and AAA. We carry out these tests ourselves if possible.

Feedback and contact information

Reporting accessibility, content or technical problems

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.

Contact our Communications Team if you find any problems or accessibility issues that are not listed on this page.

Policies, guidelines, and documents

Contact our Policies Team if you have any questions about our policies, guidelines, or documents.

Request content in an accessible format

Contact the Communications Team If you need information in a different format.

Please tell us:

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

Read our Accessible Information Standard page for more information.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission enforces 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.