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Accessibility

Contents

  1. Accessibility Statement
    1. Compliance status
    2. Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
    3. What we’re doing to improve accessibility
    4. Audit
    5. Preparation of this accessibility statement
    6. Feedback and contact information
    7. Enforcement procedure

Accessibility Statement

The Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This accessibility statement applies to the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Website (sps.nhs.uk). This accessibility statement does not cover other websites that may be operated by or for SPS in the future.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliance listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
  • Some webpage templates do not have appropriate headings and structure, so they are not easily navigated by assistive technologies. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 criteria 1.3.1 and 2.4.6.
  • Repeated content in page headers cannot currently be bypassed. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 criterion 2.4.1.
  • The text size cannot always be changed without some of the content overlapping. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 criteria 1.4.4 and 1.4.10
  • Some elements (these are different parts of a webpage, such as headings and paragraphs) are not always sufficiently described or do not receive sufficient focus, so are not accessible to assistive technologies. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 criteria 1.3.1, 2.1.1, 2.1.4, 2.4.3, 2.4.7 and 4.1.2
  • Some colour combinations found on the website are low contrast so are likely to be difficult for people with low vision to read. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 criteria 1.4.1, 1.4.3 and 1.4.11
  • Some search fields do not have sufficient labels or instructions. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 criterion 3.3.2
  • Some attached files such as PDF and Word documents have not been created using appropriate headings and structure. This makes the content difficult to navigate for users of screen readers. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 criteria 1.3.1 and 2.4.6.
  • Most of our back catalogue of embedded podcasts do not have a transcript. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 criterion1.2.1.
  • Most of our videos have automated captions or a transcript that have not yet been checked and corrected by our team. When webpages are magnified, the automated transcript from videos may obscure the video content. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 criteria 1.2.1 to 1.2.5.
  • The text in some hyperlinks does not clearly explain the purpose of the link from the link text alone. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 criteria 2.4.4, 2.4.9 and 4.1.2
  • Images do not have a text alternative to describe the image. This does not meet WCAG2.2 criterion 1.1.1

We are working to improve the accessibility of the website. By September 2026, we aim to have fixed most existing issues and will publish most new content in an accessible format. We anticipate that the following changes to our processes will take longer to implement:

  • moving all attached documents such as PDF files and Excel spreadsheets into accessible formats
  • adding transcripts to older podcasts
  • checking and correcting captions and transcripts for videos

The highly specialist nature of some of our material can present particular accessibility challenges, for example, our Key Molecules Expenditure tool that enables graphical comparison of medicines expenditure. For this, we provide the data in a separate accessible format.

If you are having problems accessing any of our content, please contact us by emailing asksps.nhs@sps.direct.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

  • Attached documents such as PDF files, published before 23 September 2018.
  • Videos and podcasts published before 23rd September 2020.
  • Captions on live video streams.
  • Documents supplied to us by third parties that we did not pay for or develop.
  • Accessibility of buttons and elements (such as ‘share’ buttons and titles). within embedded third-party media used for videos and podcasts.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

As part of our commitment to improve the accessibility of the SPS website, we have developed a project group to work through all the accessibility issues we have identified. We have also had the website audited by an external organisation. Improving the accessibility of our content is a priority for us and we are committed to resolving the issues identified. This includes:

  • working with our website developers to fix the technical issues in our webpage templates and tools
  • identifying and prioritising non-accessible PDF and Word files for updates or replacement with accessible formats
  • adopting the NHS Design System when appropriate
  • updating how our links are written
  • adding transcripts for new podcasts
  • updating images that do not have text alternatives

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. Most of the website can be navigated using a keyboard or speech recognition software and can be listened to using a screen reader. AbilityNet has advice on making devices easier to use when navigating a website.

Audit

The SPS website (sps.nhs.uk) was last audited in July 2025. The audit was carried out by the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC).

We selected a sample of pages representing the different templates and tools used across the site. The aim was to cover the different webpages, tools and features that are published on the website. We are currently working through the issues identified from this audit, as summarised above.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 28 February 2025 and was updated on 16 January 2026.

This accessibility statement has been prepared using results from:

  • an audit by the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC)
  • an audit by the Accessibility Monitoring Team from the Cabinet Office
  • accessibility concerns identified through internal manual review

We plan to review our website and update this statement at least yearly. This statement was last reviewed and updated on 16 January 2026.

Feedback and contact information

We are focused on improving the digital accessibility of our website. Please let us know if you:

  • would like to request a transcript for one of our videos or podcasts
  • would like to request an alternative version of a downloadable document
  • find any accessibility problems not listed on this page that you think should be included.

You can contact the SPS digital team by email: asksps.nhs@sps.direct

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’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).