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Accessibility statement

Accessibility Statement

PatientsCann UK is committed to making our websites accessible to everyone — including people with disabilities, chronic illness, and the medical cannabis patients we exist to support.

WCAG 2.2 AA Target Last reviewed: May 2026 Two websites covered

Our Commitment

This statement covers two PatientsCann UK websites: the main information and advocacy website at patientscann.org.uk and the PatientsCann UK Shop at shop.patientscann.org.uk. We aim for both to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA, and we are continuously working to improve the accessibility of our digital presence for all users.

Conformance Status

How We Currently Perform

The table below summarises our self-assessed conformance across key WCAG 2.2 criteria for both websites.

Criterion patientscann.org.uk shop.patientscann.org.uk Notes
1.1.1 Non-text content (Alt text) ✓ Meets ✓ Meets All images include descriptive alt attributes. Decorative images use alt="".
1.3.1 Info & relationships ✓ Meets ✓ Meets Semantic HTML used throughout. Headings, lists and landmarks in place.
1.4.3 Contrast (minimum) ✓ Meets ✓ Meets All body text and interactive elements meet 4.5:1 ratio against backgrounds.
1.4.4 Resize text ✓ Meets ✓ Meets Text resizes to 200% without loss of content or functionality. The built-in Ally toolbar also provides one-click text resizing.
2.1.1 Keyboard ✓ Meets ~ Partial Main site fully keyboard navigable. Some shop checkout widgets are under review.
2.4.3 Focus order ✓ Meets ~ Partial Logical focus order on main site. Shop cart overlay focus management in progress.
2.4.7 Focus visible ✓ Meets ~ Partial Custom focus outlines applied site-wide. Shop theme overrides being addressed.
3.1.1 Language of page ✓ Meets ✓ Meets lang="en-GB" declared on all pages.
4.1.2 Name, role, value ✓ Meets ~ Partial ARIA labels applied to interactive elements on main site. Shop plug-ins under audit.
2.5.3 Label in name ✓ Meets ↻ In review Visible labels match accessible names on main site. Shop audit scheduled Q3 2026.
Built-in Features

Accessibility Features on Our Sites

We have implemented a range of measures to ensure our websites are usable by as many people as possible.

Skip Navigation Link

A "Skip to main content" link is available at the top of every page, letting keyboard and screen reader users bypass repeated navigation and reach the main content directly.

Semantic HTML Structure

Pages are built with proper semantic elements — <header>, <nav>, <main>, <footer>, and ARIA landmark roles — so assistive technologies can reliably communicate page structure.

Keyboard Navigation

All interactive elements — navigation menus, accordions, buttons, and form controls — are fully operable using a keyboard alone. Focus indicators are clearly visible with sufficient colour contrast.

Colour Contrast

Our brand palette has been audited for WCAG 2.2 AA contrast ratios. All body text meets the 4.5:1 minimum and large text meets 3:1. Interactive components are tested individually.

Scalable Text

All text is specified in relative units. Content remains readable and functional when browser text size is increased to 200%, without horizontal scrolling or loss of functionality.

Responsive & Touch-Friendly

Both websites are fully responsive across screen sizes. Touch targets meet the 44×44 CSS pixel WCAG 2.5.5 recommendation, making our sites easier to use on mobile and tablet devices.

Ally Accessibility Toolbar

Both websites include the Ally – Web Accessibility & Usability toolbar, giving every visitor one-click access to text resizing, high-contrast modes, link highlighting, a reading guide, dyslexia-friendly fonts, and cursor enlargement — no installation needed.

Plain Language

We write in plain, clear English to ensure our medical cannabis information is understandable to as wide an audience as possible, including people with cognitive differences or lower health literacy.

No Time Limits

No content on our websites auto-refreshes or imposes time limits on reading or interacting. Session management on the shop preserves cart contents to reduce pressure on users who need more time.

Known Limitations

Areas We Are Improving

We are transparent about existing gaps and are actively working to resolve them.

The cart slide-out and product quick-view modal on the shop do not currently trap focus correctly. Keyboard users may be able to navigate behind the overlay. We are working with our theme developer to implement proper focus trapping using the inert attribute.

Workaround: Use the full product page (rather than quick-view) and proceed through checkout on dedicated pages rather than the slide-out cart where possible.

Some older embedded YouTube videos on the main site may use auto-generated captions rather than manually reviewed captions. New video content published from January 2026 onwards includes reviewed captions.

We are working through our video library to add or correct captions. If you need a transcript for a specific video, please contact us.

Some older PDF resources in our downloads library are image-based scans and have not been tagged for accessibility. These may not be readable by screen readers.

We are converting priority documents to accessible, tagged PDFs. If you need a document in an alternative format, please contact us and we will provide it promptly.

Interactive clinic and lounge locator maps use third-party embedded map widgets which have limited keyboard and screen reader support. We provide the same information in an accessible list view as an alternative on every page that includes a map.

Some of our contact and report forms include Google reCAPTCHA for spam prevention. Google's reCAPTCHA v3 (invisible) is used where possible. If you experience difficulty completing a form, please email us directly at hello@patientscann.org.uk and we will process your enquiry manually.

Technical

Compatible Technologies

Our websites are designed to be compatible with the following assistive technologies and browsers.

Screen Readers

  • NVDA with Mozilla Firefox (Windows)
  • JAWS with Google Chrome (Windows)
  • VoiceOver with Safari (macOS & iOS)
  • TalkBack with Chrome (Android)

Browsers & Operating Systems

  • Google Chrome (latest, Windows & macOS)
  • Mozilla Firefox (latest, Windows & macOS)
  • Apple Safari (latest, macOS & iOS)
  • Microsoft Edge (latest, Windows)
  • Samsung Internet (latest, Android)

Ally — Built-in Accessibility Toolbar

Powered by the Ally – Web Accessibility & Usability plugin

Both PatientsCann UK websites include the Ally accessibility toolbar — a built-in widget that lets you personalise how the site looks and behaves without needing any third-party software. Look for the accessibility icon ⚀ Accessibility at the edge of the page to open it.

Text resize High contrast modes Link highlighting Readable fonts Reading guide Dyslexia-friendly font Keyboard navigation aid Cursor enlargement

Your Ally preferences are saved in your browser and will be remembered on your next visit. No account is required.

Legal & Standards

Compliance & Standards

Regulatory Framework

PatientsCann UK CIC is a non-profit Community Interest Company. As a UK organisation, we aim to comply with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 as a matter of good practice, and we fully support the intent of the Equality Act 2010 in making reasonable adjustments to ensure our digital services are accessible.

Our target standard is WCAG 2.2 Level AA. This statement was prepared through a self-assessment carried out in May 2026. We intend to arrange an independent third-party audit in 2026–2027.

Enforcement

If you are not satisfied with our response to an accessibility complaint, you may contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS):

The EASS is open Monday–Friday 9am–7pm and Saturday 10am–2pm.

This accessibility statement was last reviewed in May 2026 and will next be reviewed no later than May 2027. We update it whenever significant changes are made to either website.