Accessibility

What is accessibility and why does it matter?

To be accessible, this website must be as easy to use and understand for as many visitors as possible.

Text size and colour

Can I change font sizes and the colours of the website?

Yes. This may be useful for you if you have low vision, and need larger fonts or high contrast colours. You can change the font size, style and colour, and choose an alternative colour for links. You can also change background and foreground colours.

How do I do that on a PC?

If using Internet Explorer on a PC, select the View menu at the top of your window. To change font size, scroll down and select the Text size option. To ignore font and background colours choose the Internet options from the Tools menu at the top of the window. On the general tab of the window that appears, click the Accessibility button. This takes you to a menu where you can choose to ignore the way the page is formatted. Then return to the Internet options menu, and use the Colours and Fonts buttons to set your preferences.

If using Firefox on a PC, select the View menu at the top of your window. To change font size, scroll down and select the Text size option. Use Increase and Decrease to change text size in steps.

How do I do change text size on an Apple Mac?

From Internet Explorer, select Preferences from the Edit menu at the top of the window. From there, click on Web content and uncheck the Show style sheets option. Then return to the list of preferences and choose Web browser. Then click on Language/fonts and choose the size you need.

Keyboard navigation

Do I have to use a mouse to navigate a website?

No. Use your arrow keys to scroll up or down the page. You can use your Tab key to move between links, and press Return or Enter to select one. To go back to the previous page, use the Backspace key.

PDF accessibility

Is there anything I can do to make PDF documents more accessible?

Useful information about services to make Acrobat documents more accessible is provided on Adobe's website. You can also find more on our Help viewing PDFs page.

Adobe Acrobat support
Adobe pages on accessibility
Accessing PDF documents with assistive technology: A screen reader user's guide

Downloading documents

What formats are downloadable documents provided in?

Downloadable documents on the DH site are provided in a variety of formats. The most common are PDF, Word and Excel.

What if I don’t have the software to open the document?

Most computers already have the software to open these document formats. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader (for reading PDFs), it is available from the Adobe site.

Adobe Acrobat support

How do I save documents to my computer?

If you have a PC, right-click on the link to the document. If you use a Macintosh, hold down the mouse button over the link. In both cases, a popup menu will then appear. Scroll down the menu and click on ‘Save target as’. You will then be asked to choose a folder on your computer where you can save the document.

Additional links

My Computer My way!
Government accessibility guidelines
W3C web accessibility initiative

Access Keys

Included are the UK Government standard access keys throughout this web site to provide you with keyboard shortcuts to important sections.

If you are using a Windows-based system please press the 'Alt key' and the access key.

If you are using a Macintosh system please press the 'Ctrl key' and the access key.

The Access keys or keyboard shortcuts that replace the need to use a mouse for navigation are as follows:

ALT - S (press enter) Skip navigation
ALT - 1 (press enter) Homepage
ALT - 9 (press enter) Contact Details
ALT - M (press enter) Sitemap
ALT - A (press enter) Access Key details
ALT - C (press enter) Careers

The main menu navigation can be accessed uing ALT - with numbers 1 - 8. Footer menus can be accessed uing ALT with the underlined character.