Accessibility statement for Overseas Visitor Treatment

This accessibility statement applies to the Overseas Visitor Treatment website.

This website is run by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). 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
navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
navigate the website using speech recognition software (including the most recent version of Dragon and Voice Control)
listen to some of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent version of 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 know some parts of this website are not fully accessible, as:

when an error occurs on a page, it is not read as an alert or error in the Firefox browser
users are not able to navigate to previous pages in 400% zoom view or when using mobile devices, as breadcrumb links are not visible in these views
when an error occurs on a page, it is not read as a link for users of the screen reader VoiceOver
VoiceOver reads the error message ‘there is a problem’ twice in the Safari browser
Mac Voice Control does not recognise some links, buttons and fields due to complex or lengthy text
expand or collapse links cannot be opened with speech recognition by using an action and the link names
Voice Control users cannot open links with hidden text unless they use the exact wording of the display text and the hidden text
when the page loads, screen reader focus does not start at the top of the page if using a mobile device or JAWS
the timeout warning will not be displayed when JavaScript is disabled. This will mean that the users will not be able to extend or cancel the timeout
the third-party authentication pages do not currently meet AA standards meaning they are not fully accessible

How to request content in an accessible format

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

Email: accessibility@nhsbsa.nhs.uk

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

This email address is only for accessibility queries. It is not for technical queries or IT problems. If you have a query that’s not about accessibility, go to the ‘Contact us’ section of this page.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, you can contact us by:

Email: accessibility@nhsbsa.nhs.uk

Contact us

For all queries not accessibility related, you can contact us by:

Email: nhsbsa.ovmqueries@nhsbsa.nhs.uk

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 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

The NHSBSA 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

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.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

When an error occurs on a page, it is not read as an alert or error in the Firefox browser. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.1 (Error Identification).

Users are not able to navigate to previous pages in 400% zoom view or when using mobile devices, as breadcrumb links are not visible in these views. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.4 (Orientation) and 1.4.10 (Reflow).

When an error occurs on a page, it is not read as a link for users of the screen reader VoiceOver. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4 (Navigable).

VoiceOver reads the error message ‘there is a problem’ twice in a Safari browser. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.1 (Error Identification).

Mac Voice Control does not recognise some links, buttons and fields due to complex or lengthy text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1 (Compatible).

Expand or collapse links cannot be opened with speech recognition by using an action and the link names. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.2.3 (Consistent Navigation).

Voice Control users cannot open links with hidden text unless they use the exact wording of the display text and the hidden text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1 (Compatible).

When the page loads, screen reader focus does not start at the top of the page if using a mobile device or JAWS. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).

The timeout warning will not be displayed when JavaScript is disabled. This will mean that the users will not be able to extend or cancel the timeout. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.2.6 (Timeouts).

The third-party authentication pages do not currently meet AA standards meaning they are not fully accessible because of the following issues:

A checkbox is present that does not contain a label, which means some users of assistive technology may be unable to identify the form element’s function or purpose. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels)
Some pages contain elements that have very low contrast between the foreground and background colours. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)).
Some links contains unnecessary text that will not make sense out of context. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)).
Some actions, such as mouse clicks, trigger JavaScript events on some pages which are not accessible to both mouse and keyboard users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard).
Some pages do not a follow a logical order when using the Tab key, Shift-Tab keys or a screen reader to navigate, which will cause difficulties for users navigating with a keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
Zooming and scaling is disabled on some screens, which can cause problems when using screen magnifiers. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow).
Some pages do not contain a main heading which means that users may not be able to determine the structure of content on the page. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
Users of screen enlargers will not benefit from the use of landmarks on some pages. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
The URL for the login page contains an abbreviation. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4 (Navigable).
Users of assistive technologies will have difficulty using buttons in some pages as they are not marked up correctly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
Users will not be able to sign into the service if JavaScript is disabled. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4 (Compatible).
Some pages contain images with irrelevant or missing alternative text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
Users of assistive technologies will have difficulty on the Sign in page as ARIA labelling exists for missing elements. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
Empty links are present on some pages which will make it difficult for users understanding the purpose of the link. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)).
Users of assistive technologies will have difficulty to distinguish one element from another on the Forgot password page. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing).
Form fields do not have visible labels on some pages. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
Conflicting subsections on the Sign in page will affect navigation for screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
The Recover your account page has audio and video content without captions and transcripts. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.2.2 (Captions (Prerecorded)), 1.2.3 (Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)) and 1.2.5 (Audio Description (Prerecorded)).
Some of the text on the Forgot password screen is difficult to read on mobile devices because the text is too close to the border of the screen. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.4 (Orientation).
Links on the login screens cannot be opened with speech recognition by using an action and link names or content. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.2.3 (Consistent Navigation).
On the Password reset page, some elements have tab-index greater than zero. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
On the Password reset page, table layout is present for form fields and buttons. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 1.3.2 (Meaningful Sequences).
On the Password reset page, the 'Next' button and 'Cancel' link are too close together. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.8 (Target Size (Minimum)).
On some pages, the audio mode and reload buttons display a pop-up on mouse hover. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.13 (Content on Hover or Focus).
On some screens the page title is not unique. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.2 (Page Titled)

We plan to fix these issues. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure it meets accessibility standards.

Disproportionate burden

Viewing uploaded evidence

Files which are uploaded as evidence are not accessible when viewed by external overseas visitor managers. These files are used as evidence to support treatment cost claims sent to member states for payment. These files are presented as images to provide an accurate representation of the evidence uploaded so that it can be assessed.

There is currently no product available which would allow us to satisfy evidence policy requirements and also comply with accessibility regulations.

We believe that this would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We’ll regularly assess what products are available to us and any potential fix to this issue.

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

Document Upload

Due to an issue with Dragon and some older versions of this assistive technology, users will have difficulties interacting with the document upload buttons. We advise Dragon users to use the mouse grid feature to interact the file upload feature.

Usability

Some of our page titles are quite long so some users may struggle to quickly identify the subject or purpose of the page.

Some links from the website will direct users to external websites where accessibility issues have been identified. This may cause difficulties to users with accessibility needs or those that use assistive technologies. We have contacted the owners of this content to advise them of these accessibility issues.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We’re committed to making sure this website is compliant to WCAG 2.2 ‘AA’ standard.

Our accessibility compliance statement will be reviewed regularly. Every new released website will be designed, built and tested to meet ‘AA’ standards by default.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 25 February 2021. It was last reviewed on 15 October 2024.

This website was last tested on 6 October 2024.

The test was carried out by the NHSBSA test and development teams. The most viewed pages were tested using automated testing tools by our website team. A further audit of the website was carried out to the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

We tested all of the website screens to meet ‘AA’ WCAG 2.2 standards, using manual and automated tests.

We run each webpage through automated Wave, Lighthouse and Axe accessibility tools then manually test with screen readers (NVDA and VoiceOver) and standards checklists.

We run representative user journey tests through speech recognition software (Dragon and Voice Control).

These checklists contain standards that have been compiled using WCAG, the NHS service manual and the Government Digital Service (GDS) guidance.