This accessibility statement applies to www.selfhelp.cntw.nhs.uk

This website is run by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust. 

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 text on this website as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your phone, computer or tablet easier to use, depending on your needs.

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).

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

If you find any problems or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please email Communications@cntw.nhs.uk 

This accessibility statement applies to Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 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.

The website was tested in May 2024 for compliance against the WCAG 2.2AA accessibility standards.
 

This statement was prepared on 15th May 2024. It is based on:

 

  • Technical assessment of the website content management system (CMS), design, layout, navigation and functionality by Frank, our website developers. 
  • Self-assessment of website content (including images and documents) by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust’s Communications Team.
     

Website browsers
Website browsers often have useful tools (known as ‘extensions’) that can help you by reading pages aloud to you. There is a useful article about this on Understood.org.  

Chrome

  • Click on the three dots in the top right corner to open the menu.
  • Click on ‘more tools’.
  • Click on ‘extensions’.
  • Click on burger menu in top left corner (three black lines).
  • At the bottom of the menu click on ‘open Chrome web store’.
  • Search for the extension – we used ‘Read Aloud’. (It is important you use an extension that is well reviewed and has a large number of users. We cannot guarantee their effectiveness.)
  • Click ‘Add to Chrome’.

FireFox 

  • Firefox has a built-in ‘Reader View’ button, next to the address bar at the top of the browser.
  • ‘Reader View’ displays the page’s main text content with simple styling and no distracting clutter.
  • On the left of the text there are tools allowing you to listen to the page read aloud or change the text size.
  • There are also extensions that can be installed, for example those listed on the Mozilla website.

Safari (desktop)

  • In the Safari application menu, go to Edit > Speech > Start speaking.
  • You can choose to read the whole page (including the navigation and everything else), or you can click the 'reader view' icon if you only want to read the main page content.

Microsoft Edge 

  • Clicking on 'Settings and more' in the top right corner of the Microsoft Edge browser will bring up the 'Read aloud' option, which lets you have text from web pages read to you.
  • You can choose from several voices. Find out more from Microsoft.

Operating Systems

Some Operating Systems have built-in options:

Android devices: TalkBack

  • TalkBack is an Accessibility Service for Android which helps blind and vision-impaired users interact with their devices more easily. The application adds spoken, audible and vibration feedback to your device. 
  • TalkBack provides spoken feedback as you navigate around the screen, by describing your actions and informing you of any notifications. It is a system application and comes pre-installed on most Android devices. The application is updated when the Accessibility Service is improved.
  • Read how to turn on TalkBack on your Android device.

Apple devices: VoiceOver

  • VoiceOver is a fully featured screen reader for Mac, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.  
  • It is already built into the operating system, so you don't need to download any additional software.
  • VoiceOver reads aloud everything on the screen including documents and web pages. 
  • It enables the navigation of your computer or device by keyboard or touch alone.
  • Read more about Apps which work well with VoiceOver.

NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access)

  • NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) is a free, downloadable screen reader available in a number of languages. 
  • It can read everything on the screen aloud in a synthesised voice enabling you to use your computer using just the keyboard or a combination of keyboard and mouse.
  • The software can also be installed and run from a USB pen drive and supports the use of a braille display.
  • The software is free to download and use, but a donation to support further development can be made.
  • Go to the NVDA website for more information and to download it.

The information on this page has been provided thanks to Frank, our website developers.