This website is run by the Department for Health. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible.
How you should be able to use this website
The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to:
- zoom in up to 300% without problems
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
- use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
How accessible this website is
Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:
- some tables do not have row or column headers
- some pages and elements have poor colour contrast
- some PDF documents are not yet accessible
Feedback and contact information
If you need information in a different format contact us and tell us:
- the web address (URL) of the content
- your name and email address
- the format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us and we will investigate the issue.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’) in Northern Ireland. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The Department for Health 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 (WCAG) version 2.2 A and AA standards, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
The content that is not accessible is outlined below with details of:
- the accessibility problem(s)
- where it fails the success criteria, and
- when we plan to fix it
Developer issues
- Colour contrast interface elements (WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum))There are minor colour contrast issues with elements on keyboard focus . We plan to repair by October 2025.
Page Structure
When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of headers and formatting of lists meet accessibility standards.
here are a number of pages which do not use a consistent or appropriate use of headings. This fails WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships). We plan to repair these pages within the next 6 months, by March 2026.
Documents
A number of documents are non-accessible for a number of reasons which may result in a loss of meaning for users of screen readers or present issues for users with moderately low vision. For example, some documents:
- do not have a language attribute set This is a failure of WCAG 3.1.1 (Language of Page).
- have areas of insufficient colour contrast. This is a failure of WCAG 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum))
- have titles missing. This is a failure of WCAG 2.4.2 (Page Titled)
- do not have page regions. This is a failure of WCAG 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks)
- have pages with no headings. This is a failure of WCAG 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels)
We plan to repair this within the next 6 months, by March 2026.
Any new PDFs or other documents we publish will meet the required accessibility standards.
Disproportionate burden
Not applicable.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Not applicable.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We plan to identify and fix issues according to the timescales shown for each area above. We are in the process of arranging an audit to address the WCAG 2.2 compliance
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 10th September 2025. It was last reviewed on 10th September 2025.
This website was tested in September 2025 for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 level A and level AA, and these tests have been carried out externally and independently by Expleo which was contracted by the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland to carry out accessibility audits cross departmental sites.
We used the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test.