Global Accessibility Awareness Day takes place on 20th May. Its aim is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion.
Someone with a disability must be able to experience web-based services, content and other digital products in the same way as those without disabilities. Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is a global event that shines a light on digital access and inclusion for people with disabilities.
We all need information that we can trust.
Our 850+ patient and carer information resources are clear, accurate, evidence-based, up-to-date and easy to use.
Karen O’Rourke, Patient Information Centre Manager at CNTW, said: “With information so freely available online, it can be hard for people to find high quality, accurate and up-to-date information. Our guides have been written with the help of NHS clinical psychologists, service users, carers and other NHS professionals, so people can have confidence in what they’re reading.”
There are many things we’re doing to make our information more accessible.
Self-help guides
Our guides cover 23 different topics, including anxiety, eating disorders and sleeping problems. They are available in different formats to make them accessible to as many people as possible. These include audio recordings, British Sign Language and Easy read. There’s also a free app you can download to view them on. Many of our guides have been recognised by the British Medical Association’s prestigious Patient Information Awards.
You can see the guides at www.cntw.nhs.uk/selfhelp
Our website
To make the Trust’s website more accessible, we use a tool called ReciteMe. You can find the button in the top left-hand corner of any page on our website. Clicking on it launches the accessibility toolbar which lets you adjust colour and contrast settings, make fonts larger, or read the page out loud. It can also translate web pages into different languages.
ReciteMe is also available on our self-help guides, allowing you to translate them into dozens of languages at the click of a button. Just click on the leaflet you want to translate, then click on ‘accessibility and translation’. The flags icon at the top of the toolbar will let you select a language.
More information and user guides on ReciteMe:
recite-user-guide-2.pdf (voice-global.org)
https://www.cntw.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Recite-me-flyer.pdf
Website accessibility: Recite Me – Western Sussex Hospitals
The Accessible Information Standard
All NHS organisations are required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. This is about making information easier to understand for everyone.
Read more about the Accessible Information Standard.
Helpful books from your local library
Reading Well is a national scheme to help you understand and manage your health and wellbeing using books. There’s a specific list of books for Mental Health: https://reading-well.org.uk/books/books-on-prescription/mental-health