Accessibility
This page describes the steps we have taken to make this website accessible to all of our visitors.
Health Scotland is committed to producing websites and web resources that can be accessed by all of our visitors. All pages produced on this Health Scotland website conform to the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C), Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Level-A standard as a minimum.
We are always keen to hear about ways we can improve the services we provide. If you are having any difficulties using this website, please contact the Webmaster – webmaster@health.scot.nhs.uk
Standards compliance
In accordance with best practice, this site uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for layout and formatting. If your browser or browsing device does not support styleheets at all, the content of each page is still readable and usable.
All pages on this site complying with all priority 1 guidelines of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and validate as XHTML 1.0 Transitional and as CSS.
Accessibility features
The following are features that we have provided that will greatly assist you to use our websites.
Access keys
Access keys provide a quick way to navigate round the site without using a mouse. In line with current UK Government accessibility recommendations, the following access keys are in use on this website:
S - Skip navigation
1 - Home page
2 - Not used
3 - Sitemap
4 - Search
5 - Not used
6 - Not used
7 - Not used
8 - Terms & Conditions
9 - Contact Us
0 - Accessibility
How to use access keys
The keys are used in conjunction with the 'Alt' or 'Ctrl' keys and 'Enter' key (which vary depending on your browser).
1. Hold down the:
a. 'Alt' key if using Internet Explorer for Windows
b. 'Ctrl' key if using Mozilla/Firefox, or if using Internet Explorer or Safari on a Mac
c. 'Shift' and 'Esc' together if using Opera (note Opera ignores numeric Access Keys)
2. Simultaneously select a key from the list above.
3. Press 'Enter' if using Internet Explorer for Windows PC (other browsers go to the page immediately).
Tab indexing
The site has been structured to allow quick access to links when using the keyboard for navigation.
The order for tab indexing in each page is as follows:
- Skip navigation
- Search box/additional navigation
- Main navigation
- Breadcrumb navigation
- Content
- Side navigation
- Bottom navigation
Portable Document Format (PDF)
This site uses PDF files. To view PDF files, you will need to download and install a PDF reader. The Adobe website offers:
- Adobe Reader free download (external link)
- Accessibility conversion tools
- PDF accessibility information
Problems accessing documents
If you have any problems accessing the documents published on this website, please contact us and we will supply you with the document in an accessible format.
Accessibility options and help for your web browser
Many web browsers have accessibility features, which help you use the web in the way that best suits you. We recommend you select the browser which best suits your needs, and these links give you some helpful guidance whether you want to best configure your web browser or download a more suitable one.
Note that there are many different web browsers available, and many versions of each of them, so it would be impractical for us to list them all here. We have chosen the most popular as a guide that you may find useful.
Accessibility options and help for your computer
To configure your operating system to tailor its accessibility features to your needs you may find these websites useful:
