Accessibility statement for the NHS England Secure Data Environment

The SDE is run by NHS England: https://portal.sde.digital.nhs.uk/

We want as many people as possible to be able to use the 'manage user's' functionality.

For example, that means you should be able to:

• navigate the application using a keyboard or speech recognition software
• listen to the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA
• zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen

We've also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

In May 2024 we carried out accessibility and usability testing on the ‘manage users’ functionality. Users of assistive technologies identified ways in which we could make the functionality more accessible, and we have implemented those changes. 

We know some parts of the SDE may not be fully accessible.

The SDE virtual desktop contains data analytics and development tools by third party software suppliers. These are accessed by data analysts who have completed an induction process. 

The third-party sign in software used for the SDE portal displays error messages that may not be accessible for users with visual impairments.

If you find any problems with the SDE or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, contact [email protected]

If you need information on the SDE in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille: email: [email protected]

We'll consider your request and aim to get back to you within 3 days.

If you have difficulty contacting us by email, call our Customer Contact Centre on 0300 311 22 33.

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).

NHS England is committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

The SDE portal is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard.

The SDE virtual desktop which can be accessed from within the portal is not compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard.

In October 2024 we asked Dig Inclusion to carry out an accessibility audit on the SDE portal.

A few issues were highlighted in the report:

• users with visual impairments may not be aware of errors and error messages when a change role form is submitted
• in some cases, error messages are not associated with the relevant form field
• dynamic changes to the filters are not being conveyed to assistive technologies
• session timeouts are not extendable or adjustable

We are currently fixing these issues raised in the audit. 

The SDE virtual desktop contains tools for data analytics and development, for example Databricks, that may not be accessible because they are provided by third party suppliers and are not under our control or developed by us.

The third-party authentication software Keycloak contains restrictions that means error messages may not be presented in an accessible way.

We will continue to do accessibility and usability testing to help improve the service.

We are implementing the recommendations of the accessibility audit by Dig Inclusion reported to us on 17 October 2024. We will arrange a validation test to confirm these improvements have been implemented.

This statement was prepared on the 13 November 2024. It was last reviewed on the 13 November 2024.

This application was last tested for accessibility on the 17 October 2024.