Accessibility statement for HeliosCheck.com
Women’s health care is hard enough to reach without a website getting in the way. This page sets out the standard we hold HeliosCheck.com to, what we have built, what still falls short, and exactly how to ask us for something different.
We build to WCAG 2.2 level AA
HeliosCheck.com aims to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at level AA, the standard used by health services and public bodies internationally. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative publishes the guidelines and the plain-language guidance behind them, and we work from the source rather than from a checklist someone summarised.
We take that target seriously because of who reads this site. People arrive here in pain, after a broken night, one-handed while feeding a baby, on an old phone with a poor connection, or with a disability that has nothing to do with the symptom they are asking about. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1.3 billion people live with significant disability — a group that overlaps with every condition in our conditions library.
Accessibility is checked when a page is built, not retrofitted after launch: keyboard path, heading order, contrast and alt text are part of the same review that our editorial policy applies to clinical accuracy.
What we have built into the site
None of this is unusual, and that is the point. These are the basics done properly, on every page, rather than an accessibility widget bolted over the top of a site that never worked.
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Semantic, structured HTML
Real headings in order, landmarks, lists that are lists and buttons that are buttons — so a screen reader can describe the page rather than read it out as one long paragraph.
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Full keyboard operation
Every link, form field, accordion and menu can be reached and operated with a keyboard alone, in a logical order, with a skip-to-content link as the first stop on each page.
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Visible focus states
A high-contrast focus ring follows the keyboard, so you can always see where you are. We have not removed default focus styling anywhere on helioscheck.com.
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Colour contrast tested
Body text, headings and interface elements are checked against the WCAG 2.2 AA contrast thresholds, and no information is conveyed by colour alone.
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Text that resizes
Type and layout are set in relative units. You can zoom to 200%, or enlarge text in your browser or operating system, without content being cut off or overlapping.
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Reduced motion respected
If your device asks for reduced motion, transitions and movement are suppressed. There is no autoplaying video, no carousel that moves on its own, and no flashing content.
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Descriptive alternative text
Images that carry meaning have alt text written by the person who placed them; purely decorative images are hidden from assistive technology instead of being narrated.
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Forms that explain themselves
Labels are attached to fields, required fields are announced, and errors are described in words next to the field rather than signalled only by a red border.
Where HeliosCheck.com does not yet meet the standard
A statement that claims everything is perfect is not worth reading. These are the gaps we know about, what we are doing about each one, and what we will do for you in the meantime.
The video consultation tool
Appointments run through a third-party encrypted video platform we do not control. Its keyboard support and screen-reader labelling are not fully within our power to fix. We test it on each release, report defects to the supplier, and — until they are resolved — we will hold your appointment by telephone instead, at no extra cost and with no loss of appointment length.
PDF documents
Some downloadable resources and older written summaries are PDFs that are not fully tagged for screen readers. We are converting them to accessible HTML pages. Until a given document is converted, ask us and we will send the same content as plain text, large print or an accessible Word file.
Documents you send us
Scans, photographs of paper reports and letters uploaded by patients cannot be made accessible by us. If you need something you have sent us read back to you, your clinician will go through it during the appointment.
Payment pages
Card payment is handled inside our payment provider’s hosted form. We have chosen a provider that states WCAG conformance, but we do not write that page. If you cannot complete payment, tell us and we will take it by another route.
If you hit a barrier that is not on this list, it is not on this list because we have not found it yet. Please tell us — reports from readers have changed more of this site than our own testing has.
Adjustments we can make to your appointment
An online consultation removes some barriers and quietly creates others. Everything below is available at no extra cost — ask on the intake form or through contact when you book, so it is arranged before your appointment rather than improvised during it.
- A telephone consultation instead of video, for any reason, at no extra cost
- Longer appointments where a condition, pain, fatigue, anxiety or language makes 45 minutes too short
- An interpreter — spoken language or sign — arranged by us if you ask when you book
- Your written summary in large print, plain text, or a screen-reader-friendly format
- A partner, carer, family member or advocate on the call, with your consent recorded
- Breaks during the appointment, or the appointment split across two shorter sessions
- Questions sent in writing before the call if speaking on demand is difficult
- Intake completed by phone with a member of the team if the online form is not usable for you
You do not have to explain why, and you do not need a diagnosis or a letter to ask. What you tell us is recorded as a care preference under our privacy policy and carried forward, so you are not asked to request the same adjustment twice. See how it works for the shape of a standard appointment.
Report a barrier, or ask for another format
Email hello@helioschecks.com with the page address and what went wrong, or call +1 (555) 014-2200 during Mon–Fri 08:00–19:00 · Sat 09:00–14:00. The contact page has the same routes in a form.
Within 2 working days
We acknowledge your message, name the person handling it, and confirm what we have understood the problem to be.
Within 10 working days
We reply with a fix, a workaround you can use now, or a dated plan — and we say plainly if something will take longer.
Alternative formats
Any page or document can be supplied as plain text, large print or an accessible document, usually within five working days.
If you are unhappy with our response, ask for it to be escalated to our clinical lead, Dr A. Whitfield, who reviews accessibility complaints personally. The formal complaints route is set out in our terms of service. [Details of the national accessibility enforcement body for [JURISDICTION] to be added before launch.]
How this statement was prepared
This statement was prepared on 23 September 2026 and last reviewed on 23 September 2026. It was written by the HeliosCheck.com team following an internal review of every published page, using keyboard-only navigation, browser zoom to 200%, automated contrast and structure checks, and screen-reader spot checks on the pages patients use most: the homepage, our services pages, the conditions library, FAQ and the booking route through contact.
An internal review is not an independent audit, and we do not want to imply otherwise. [Independent WCAG 2.2 AA audit to be commissioned and dated before launch.] Findings from that audit, and the timetable for fixing anything it raises, will be published on this page rather than filed internally — the same approach we take to corrections in our editorial policy.
This statement is reviewed at least every six months, and immediately after any significant change to the site or to the consultation platform.
Tell us what you need before the appointment, not during it
Every HeliosCheck.com consultation runs 30 to 45 minutes with a consultant gynecologist and ends with a written plan. Ask for the adjustments that make that usable for you, and they will be in place when you arrive.
Sources we cite: editorial policy. What we record about you: privacy policy.
