Websites Best Practice

Accessibility tools

CAMHS providers’ websites should incorporate a range of accessibility tools, including:

• text size adjustment
• a variety of colour palette or contrast options
• a text-to-speech function
• transcripts of any videos provided on the website
• a text-only version of the website if it contains large numbers of images, or if it makes use of patterned or multi-coloured backgrounds, although best practice is to avoid the latter

Below are two examples of websites using many of these functions:
Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (Accessed via the Rok Talk toolbar, which can be switched on using a button at the bottom left of the homepage)

Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

To make these tools easier to find and adjust during use, trusts should consider making them available via a toolbar which is always on-screen during website navigation, as shown in the example below:
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Accessibility Tools 1

Structure

All information relating to CAMHS should be gathered together in a single location, either on a standalone CAMHS website or in a dedicated area of the provider’s main website. It should include information about:

• the therapies offered within CAMHS
• the conditions CAMHS can help with
• the different staff roles and individual staff members within CAMHS
• the locations where CAMHS are delivered
• what to expect from a first appointment at CAMHS

Examples of this approach are given below:
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

Structure

Content

Information about what to expect from CAMHS
Trusts should provide a leaflet which young people can download and which contains all of the key messages about what they can expect from CAMHS. The language used should be straightforward, with minimal use of clinical terminology.  Visual aids such as photos, drawings and flowcharts should be used to reinforce key concepts and illustrate a young person’s journey through CAMHS.

The leaflet should include information on:

• the referral process
• the different staff roles within CAMHS
• what to expect from a first appointment including the questions young people may be asked and questions they could consider asking
• the types of therapy offered
• the conditions CAMHS can help with
• the discharge process
• the processes in place to allow young people to express their views about the care they receive

Some high quality examples are provided below:
‘Mind Matters’ (used across Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care Trusts)

Hampshire CAMHS (provided by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust)

Hampshire CAMHS

Information about autism
Clear information should be provided about:

• what autism is
• how to identify individuals who are, or may be autistic
• the difficulties autism can cause for young people
• the links between autism and mental health

Effective examples of this type of content, with differing levels of details, are provided below.
5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

This information should also be available in easy read format to ensure it is accessible to those with more significant language difficulties. A high quality example of this is given below.

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

Staff photographs and biographies
Trusts should provide individual photographs and concise biographies for each member of the CAMHS team. These biographies should contain a mixture of personal and professional information.

To cater for all ages and abilities trusts should consider producing two types of staff profile. One should contain more detailed professional information, including qualifications, research interests and specialisms, and be more suitable for an older audience with fewer language difficulties.  The other should contain more personal information, use simpler language and reduce the amount of detail to be more suitable for younger children and those with more complex needs.

The examples given below reflect these two different types of profile:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust (Example 1)

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust (Example 2)

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (Fresh CAMHS) (Example 1)

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (Fresh CAMHS) (Example 2)

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (Fresh CAMHS) (Example 3)

Please click here for further information “How to Make your Website Accessible”

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