nhs foundation trusts guideline

8/2/2019 Nhs Foundation Trusts Guideline

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NHS foundation trusts

PDF created: 28 February 2012

For the latest updates, see the NHS

Brand Guideline website at

http://www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk

We may at any time revise the online

guidelines. Please check regularly. Continued

use of downloaded NHS Brand Guidelines

after a change has been made online is your

acceptance of the change.


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Contents

Naming 1

Your NHS logotype 4

NHS typefaces 5

Web colour palette 6

Tone of voice 7

Working in partnership 8

Programmes and initiatives 9

Stationery 10

Letterheads 11

Compliments slip 13

Business cards 14

Fax-header paper 15

Media information 17

Envelopes and labels 19

Stationery checklist 20

Signage 21

Main signage 22

Internal and wayfinding signage 23

Property 25

Badges 26

Uniforms 31

Vehicles 32

Building sites 33

Identifying NHS building sites 37

Other site signs 43

Commercially let hoardings 45Perimeter fencing 47

Tower crane signs 49

Scaffolding sheeting 51

Protective clothing 53

Further branding opportunities 56

Recruitment advertising 63

Websites 64

Planning your website 65

NHS identity 66

NHS Brand Guidelines | NHS foundation trusts | 28 February 2012


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Website colour palette 67

Content 68

Accessibility 69

Managing your site 74

Links 76

Legal information 79

Further help and resources 80

Further help and information 81



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The name of an organisation is a crucial part of itsidentity.It is important that the names of all NHS organisationsare comprehensible and clear.

This is to enable patients and the public to identify our organisations

and understand their roles.

Although NHS foundation trusts have independent status within the

NHS, they operate in a system that upholds the values and

principles of the NHS. If you are part of an NHS foundation trust, you

will have locally agreed, legally binding contract arrangements with

host PCTs. These include a clause on abiding by the NHS brand

guidelines, which extends to the naming of your organisation.

The name of your NHS foundation trust must:

be clear and descriptive not conceptual or abstract;

be written out in full without the use of acronyms or

abbreviations;

contain a geographical reference; and

include the words NHS Foundation Trust in the name.

When naming an NHS service, you should follow the principles set

out above. You should also consider what will make most sense to

service users. Remember to avoid medical jargon and ensure that

the chosen name is used consistently across signage, appointment

letters and other communications materials. This will help to improve

patient understanding of, and access to, services.

Naming

The names of NHS services


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If you are thinking of changing the name of your trust on achieving

foundation status, you should consider the following:

Your current name may be well known and well recognised; it

could be costly and time-consuming to implement and raise

awareness of a new name.

Will a name-change help you to achieve your objectives? A

name can only do so much, and you may wish to consider other

ways to market your organisation, such as raising awareness of

your services and promoting your reputation.

You should be mindful of the cost and time associated with

changes in name and be assured that the potential benefits

justify the use of public monies.

You should also ensure that a new name does not clash with thenames of other NHS organisations, as this could cause confusion.

It is worth noting that in recent cases where trusts have considered

non-geographical names as part of their bid for foundation status,

the proposed name changes were reconsidered following public

consultation.

Approval for name changes pre-authorisation

NHS trusts considering a name change as part of their bid to

become a foundation trust must carry out appropriate consultation

and engagement with their stakeholders on the proposal, and

ensure that proper consideration is geiven to any objections raised.

Name changes


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This is particularly so where there is no requirement in the Trust's

constitution to seek the agreement of the Board of Governors to the

proposed change.

This consultation and engagement should include contacting

the Department of Health's branding team at the earliest

opportunity. ([email protected] 020 7972 5250/5261)

Trusts should also consult with their contact in the Department of

Health's foundation trust applications team. Once authorisation is

granted by Monitor, the constitution of your NHS foundation trust

must name the organisation.

Monitor will not authorise any name that has not first been approved

by the Department of Health.

Approval for name changes post-authorisation

If you want to reflect a name-change in your constitution following

authorisation, you should approach Monitor as well as the DH

branding team as detailed above. Their contact details are:

Legal Team

Monitor - Independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts4 Matthew Parker Street

London SW1H 9NL

020 7340 2400


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All NHS foundation trusts have logotypes basedaround the NHS logo. When constructing your NHSlogotype, you should follow these guidelines closely.You should also ensure that you use the NHS logocorrectly and consistently.

Your NHS logotype

NHS logo, organisation name and descriptor


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NHS typefaces


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Web colour palette


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Tone of voice


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Working in partnership


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Programmes and initiatives


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Stationery


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Here we set out the specifications for producing NHSletterheads.

Please refer to the relevant visual examples for information on

positioning and layout.

Letterheads


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Foundation trust A4 letterhead example


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Compliments slip

Foundation trust compliments slip example


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Business cards

Foundation trust business card example


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If you are producing fax-header paper using a word-processing package, please follow the suggestedformat shown here.

Where our preferred Frutiger typeface cannot be used, Arial or a

similar typeface should be used instead.

Fax-header paper


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Foundation trust fax-header paper example


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If you need to produce media information sheets,please refer to the suggested format shown here.

If most of your media information is being sent by fax, we

recommend that you use black. If you are sending material

electronically or by post, the two-colour combination of NHS Blue

(Pantone 300) and black is preferable.

Media information


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Foundation trust media information sheet example


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Envelopes and labels


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When designing and producing stationery, you should check that:

Your NHS logotype is in the top right-hand corner.

You have produced your NHS logotype using NHS Blue

(Pantone 300) and black no other colours should be used.

You have not applied a local design style to your stationery

items.

You are using Frutiger typeface for all professionally printed

stationery items.

You are using Arial for items being word-processed and printed

via a laser printer.

You are keeping your audiences accessibility needs in mind,

for instance, the needs of people with visual impairments.

You are using white paper (unless yellow paper has been

requested locally for readers with visual impairments).

Stationery checklist

Making sure


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Signage


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Main signage


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Internal and wayfinding signage is also important. Itprovides directions within your building, and it letspeople know when they have reached the room ordepartment they are looking for.

Using the NHS logo

There is no need to use the NHS logo or your logotype for internal

signage. However, you should use the NHS typeface and colour

palette at all times.

Internal and wayfinding signage

Example of internal or wayfinding signage


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Accessibility

When creating internal signage, you should keep accessibility issues

in mind. Use symbols to help people with visual impairments find

their way around. Access and safety signs may also be necessary to

help people with physical impairments or disabilities.

For further guidance in this area, please refer to Wayfinding:

guidance for healthcare facilities.

Hard copies of this publication should be available in your trust

library. If you belong to a non-NHS organisation, you can order a

copy from The Stationery Office on 0870 600 5522 (quote ISBN 0-

11-322140).


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Property


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Badges are a good way of communicating your roleand the roles of your colleagues to patients.

When producing badges, you need to show clearly the name and job

description of the wearer. In addition to these written descriptions,

you should also include either your NHS logotype or the NHS logo,

as shown below. You can also use photographs, if necessary.

Please note: the NHS logo is a registered trademark and can only

be used with the permission of an NHS organisation. Printers and

suppliers of NHS badges/lanyards should not hold stock items, but

instead print to order once comissioned by a NHS organistation.

When creating NHS badges, you must:

Only use an original digital graphics file for the NHS logo or

your local logotype. You can download the NHS logo from this

website. Your local logotype will be available from your

communications team.

Follow the general rules for positioning, sizing and use of the

exclusion zone set out in these brand guidelines. If this is not

possible, follow the spirit of the guidelines as closely as you

can.

Use Frutiger Roman or Frutiger Bold in NHS Blue (Pantone

300), black or white when writing your descriptor text or other

information.

Badges

Key points for creating badges

Joint branding


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If you are producing co-branded badges with another organisation,

and if both your organisation logotypes need to appear, you should

only use the NHS logo once.

If you are using a pre-NHS shield or crest, you should reproduce it in

either black or white or, costs permitting, in full-colour. Remember

no other logos can be used on NHS badges.

The specifications for NHS badges and NHS logo and your local

logotype badges are as follows:

Badge specifications

NHS logo badge example


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The specification for badges is:

Height of the NHS logo: 5mm

Position: top right-hand corner of your badge, as shown

Colour of the NHS logo: NHS Blue

Staff names

When writing staff names on badges, you should use:

Typeface: Frutiger Bold

Size: 14 point type

NHS logo and your local logotype badge example


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Leading: 16 point

Position: right aligned

Colour: black

Centre/service name

When writing the name of your centre/service on badges, you should

use:

Typeface: Frutiger Bold

Size: 9 point type

Leading: 11 point


Colour: black

Use one line for your centre/service title, or two lines if this title is

longer than a single word.

Job titles

When writing job titles on badges, you should use:

Typeface: Frutiger Roman

Size: 14 point type

Leading: 16 point


Colour: black

Non-statutory organisations


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For non-statutory organisations that want to brand badges, follow

the same guidance set out here.


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Uniforms


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Vehicles


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The NHS is one of the largest and most complexproperty portfolios in Europe. In England, we own9,000 hectares of land and 25 million square meters ofbuildings this is equivalent to the size of Bristol.

Every year, we invest almost 2 billion in capital build projects.

These projects give us the opportunity to display the NHS brand and

identity on our building sites to show the public how we are investing

in the future of the health services, and how public money is spent.

It is the main contractor who is responsible for providing and

maintaining any NHS branding on site but any design specification

must be based on these guidelines. This should be clearly stated in

the project contract.

The extent to which the NHS brand is implemented on the building

site depends on the size of the project.

If the project has a capital or works value of 100,000 or more,

it must display the NHS corporate identity. This applies to both

publicly and privately funded schemes (ie PFI).

If the project has a capital or works value of less than 100,000

, the project manager can use their own judgement to decide

how to implement these guidelines.

Because every project is different and has its own requirements, we

suggest using your judgement and common sense when applying

Building sites

Branding our building sites

Using these guidelines


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these guidelines. Its important that you implement all the parts of

the guidelines that are mandatory and we suggest you consider the

advisory and optional branding, and apply the ones that are suitable

for your project.

Mandatory branding

Site signs

Commerically let hoardings

Perimeter fencing

Protective clothing

Advisory branding

Tower crane signs

Scaffolding sheeting

Optional branding

Other branding opportunities


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Making the brand part of the process

The design and production of NHS-branded material should

form an integral part of the overall contract agreement, and

should be produced in the most cost-effective way possible.

The signage should be an essential part of the original scheme

brief, the approved business case and the design specification.

Key principles for using the NHS brand at buildingsites


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Using the NHS logo

When applying the NHS logo, make sure you download the

original NHSartwork.

Use your judgement to make sure that the NHS logo is used in

an appropriate way and communicates our message correctly.

In general, you should position the NHS logo in the top right

corner of any application. However, there may be products or

applications where it may be more appropriate to place it more

centrally - use your judgement based on the examples shown in

these guidelines.


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Like any other major construction project, an NHS capital build

project should have a prominent sign at the main entrance to the

site. This sign should display the NHS logo and information about

the project, and may also include the name of your NHSorganisation as seen in the examples below.

Make sure the entrance sign:

is part of the award contract;

is in place when the work starts;

is maintained to a good and clean standard;

incorporates all contractor and sub-contractor names into a

single sign to avoid having a series of ad-hoc signs posted

around the site entrance.

Also make sure planning permission for the site sign becomes part

of the scheme approval process.

Identifying NHS building sites

Main entrance site signs


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Multi-project sign Suggested size: 1500mm x 2700mm

Principal contractor sign (left) Suggested size: 900mm x 2700mmPrincipal contractor and sub-contractor sign (right) Suggested size:1500mm x 2700mm


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The entrance signs consist of three sections:

the top section (for the NHS logo);

the main section (for information about the project); and

the bottom section (for logos of contractors and sub-

contractors).

Top section

The top section always contains the NHS logo. Never place any

other logos, words or graphics in this top section.

NHS logo: use the standard NHS logo in NHS Blue on a white

background.

Size of logo: the NHS logo should never be smaller than

150mm in height.

Main section

The main section of the sign should display the followinginformation:

the name of your NHS organisation;

the project title;

a brief description of what will be provided;

approximately how much money is being invested in the

scheme;

a proposed opening date.

Main entrance site sign specification


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Only include the information that is applicable, but make sure the

information displayed is clear and legible.

Bottom section

The bottom section of the sign should display the names and logos

of the:

architect;

quantity surveyor;

consultant engineer;

structural engineer;

main contractor;

sub-contractors working on the scheme.

Only include the logos of the ones applicable, but make sure the

logos are displayed in a clear and similarly-sized style.

If the building scheme is joint-funded by a non-NHS partner, see the

example below for guidelines on how to display the name and, if

required, the logo of the partner organisation investing in the

scheme.

Working in partnership and joint-funded schemes


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Funding partner sign Suggested size: 1800mm x 2700mm


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On building site signs such as rear site entrance signsand goods only entrance signs, you should alwaysdisplay the NHS logo as shown.

Size of NHS logo: the logo should never be smaller than

150mm in height.

Positioning: the blue bar separates the different kinds of

information on the sign. Only the NHS logo and the name of

your organisation should appear above the blue bar, with the

organisation name left-aligned. The rest of the information goes

Other site signs

Other site signs specifications


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below the blue bar.

Colour: use NHS Blue for the NHS logo and the blue bar. The

background should always be white.

Size of sign: option 1: 900mm x 2700mm; option 2: 1800mm x

2700mm; option 3: 1500mm x 2700mm.

Site signs examples


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Commercially let hoardings visual


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Its important that the fence or wire enclosing thebuilding site displays the NHS logo.

Size of logo: use the standard NHS logo and do not make it

smaller than 350mm in height.

Position: make sure the logos are securely attached and

centred on each section of the fence.

Co-branding on fencing

When co-branding the fencing on a building site, always make sure:

the NHS logo has, at the very least, equal prominence to the

contractors logo;

only one logo is applied on each panel.

Perimeter fencing

Fence specifications:


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Perimeter fencing visual


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When using tower cranes on a building site, considerbranding them with the NHS identity.

Size of NHS logo: do not make the logo smaller than 1000mm

in height, unless you believe the location and the height of the

crane allows it.

Position of NHS logo: make sure the logo appears both on the

cross-member counter balance and the tower section.

Colour: if the logo appears on a NHS Blue background, you

should use the reversed-out logo, ie a white lozenge with NHS

Blue lettering. See below for examples of how to produce the

NHS logo.

Safety: make sure the sign is securely and safely attached to

the crane, and does not affect the safe working of the crane.

The sign must also comply with health and safety and other site

regulations.

Co-branding a tower crane

When co-branding a tower crane sign, always make sure the NHS

logo:

has, at the very least, equal prominence to the contractors

logo;

appears on the right-hand side of a co-branded tower crane

sign.

Tower crane signs

Tower crane specifications


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Tower crane co-branding visual


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When using scaffolding on a building site, you shouldconsider branding the scaffolding sheets.

Type of sheet: only use translucent sheeting.

Size of the NHS logo: dont make the logo smaller than

240mm.

Position of NHS logo: place the logo in the centre of each

sheet.

Safety: make sure the sheeting is attached securely and

complies with health and safety and other site regulations. Also

make sure the sheeting is maintained and regularly checked.

Co-branding a scaffolding sheet

When co-branding a scaffolding sheet, always make sure the NHS

logo has, at the very least, equal prominence to the contractors

logo.

Scaffolding sheeting

Scaffolding sheet specifications


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Scaffolding sheeting visual


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On a building site, its important that all staff andvisitors wear protective clothing at all times.

Contracted or sub-contracted employees should use their own

branded protective clothing.

NHS employees and NHS visitors must use NHS-branded

protective clothing, including an NHS-branded safety helmet

and an NHS-branded fluorescent tabard, vest or jacket.

The relevant NHS organisation is responsible for providing any

protective clothing at its own cost. Make sure that all protective

clothing complies with health and safety and other site regulations.

Our preferred safety helmets are white with the standard blue NHS

logo.

If the standard helmets are not available, use the NHS blue safety

helmets with a reversed-out NHS logo.

Safety helmet specifications

Size of NHS logo: 40mm high.

Type of sticker: vinyl.

Position of sticker: centrally on the front of the hat.

Protective clothing

Safety helmets

Tabards, vests and jackets


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We use fluorescent tabards, vests and jackets with the NHS logo on

the front and back.

Tabards, vests and jackets specifications

Front

Size of NHS logo: 30mm in height.

Position of NHS logo: on the right-hand side.

Back

Size of NHS logo: 100mm in height.

Position of NHS logo: centrally, between the shoulders.


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Protective clothing visual


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There are many more ways you could giveprominence to the NHS identity on a building site, suchas using flags and banners, or setting up a portableon-site office.

Here are some more examples of branding opportunities that you

may want to include in your contract specification.

Specification

Colour: NHS Blue (Pantone 300) (best match paint reference:BSI 18E53).

Further branding opportunities

Portable buildings (on-site offices)

Portable building visual


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Specifications

Type of print: screen-printed.

NHS logo: NHS Blue logo.

Flags


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Flag visual


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Specifications

Type of print: screen or electrostatically printed.

Colour: NHS Blue.

NHS logo: NHS reversed-out logo.

Size of NHS logo: must be in proportion to the size of the

banner. Make sure it is legible from a distance.

Position of NHS logo: top right-hand corner.

Banners


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Banner example


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Specifications

Colour: white.

NHS logo: NHS Blue logo.

We use signs and public notices to apologise for the disruption

caused by building work. Consider co-branding the sign or notice

with your main contractor.

Specifications

Position of NHS logo: top right-hand corner.

Font: Frutiger (or Arial if Frutiger is not available).

Text colour: NHS Blue or black on a white background.

Tape

Signs and notices


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Signs and notices example


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Recruitment advertising


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Websites


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Planning your website


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NHS identity


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Website colour palette


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Content


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Guidance on the use of alternative (alt) text for images is provided

by COI.

Information on assistive technology is provided by COI.

Guidance on creating accessible tables is provided by COI.

Guidance on creating accessible audio and video content including

Adobe Flash is available on the COI website.

How you use colour on your site has accessibility implications for

users. These are covered in guidance from the Central Office

Information on delivering inclusive websites.

Always use single, solid background colours from the NHS colour

palette.

More information on using NHS colours.

Accessibility

Alt-tags

Assistive technology

HTML tables

Graphics and multimedia

Accessibility and colour

Accessibility testing


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You must use a range of techniques to test your web pages for

accessibility. Automated testing alone cannot guarantee an

accessible site because certain features cannot be checked by

computer. These include the appropriateness of alt-text, legibility of

text, reliability of colour, etc.

Further guidance on measuring the accessibility of websites is

provided by COI.

The minimum standard of accessibility for public sector websites is

set out in the COI guidance on delivering inclusive websites.

Navigation should be clear and easy-to-use on all NHS sites. The

information and services on our websites are only useful if users can

find them. The guidelines below will ensure that users can navigateyour website, regardless of the technology they are using.

The homepage file size should not exceed 40k to ensure that the

page is quick to load.

When planning the homepage, make sure:

the homepage is clearly accessible from each page on your

site;

the main navigation menu is on the homepage;

the main sections of your website are one click from the

homepage;

the homepage contains your organisation or initiative's name,

logo and links to a page with your contact details;

W3C WAI recommendations

Homepage navigation


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the home page is linked to both www.nhs.uk and

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk.

Remember that users don't need to know the filename of the

homepage to find it.

Each page must have a route or direct link back to the homepage

and a link to your contact details.

It is not best practice to use images for navigation because they

cannot be resized in line with the text. It is more appropriate to use

styled text to comply with the WCAG guideline 11 "use W3C

technologies".

Further guidance on the use of graphical text is available from theCentral Office of Information (COI).

However, if you do have to use graphic navigation, make sure:

any graphics are consistent and intuitive;

graphics are large enough to display a meaningful alt-text within

their width and height (always use alt-text, even when you are

also providing text navigation);

navigation does not rely on JavaScript and rollovers.

There are two kinds of imagemaps: server-side and client-side. It is

best to use client-side imagemaps because they have defined areas

for the browsers. These areas must have appropriate alt-text to

describe what they are linking to. It is also important to provide

alternative text navigation to accompany any imagemaps.

Graphic navigation

Imagemaps


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The WAI WCAG guideline checkpoint 10.1 states: Do not cause

pop-ups or other windows to appear (spawned windows), and do not

change the current window, without informing the user. This is

marked as Priority 2, so this rule must be complied with to meet AA

rating.

JavaScript is commonly used to create pop-up windows, create

dropdown lists that jump the user to a different part of the website

and to redirect users from splash screens. If JavaScript is used,

ensure that ithe same functionality is available to browsers with

scripting disabled.

Pop-up windows

Pop-up windows triggered by JavaScript do not work on all

browsers. Pop-up windows are useful in certain circumstances, eg

when linking to external sites. However, they should be used

sparingly and with care. A mechanism for effective use of both

JavaScript and non-script new windows can be found at:

http://accessify.com/features/tutorials/the-perfect-popup/.

Drop-down navigation

Avoid using drop-down navigation. Drop-down menus using

JavaScript change the current window immediately without any

warning. This can be disorientating for users with screen readers.

If you do use a splash page, provide clear instructions to the user on

how to proceed from that page and do not automatically redirect the

Pop-up windows, drop-down navigation and splashscreens

Splash pages


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page because this can cause problems for users with screen

readers.

Use consistent navigation throughout the website. Include a 'skip to

content' link to help users with a screen reader. This is a link that will

jump to an anchor at the start of the content to allow users with a

screen reader to jump repetitive navigation elements. This link could

be hidden from other users by making it a 1x1 pixel, with appropriate

alt-text, at the start of the page.

Keyboard shortcuts help keyboard-only users (eg users with limited

physical ability) to navigate your site. If you offer this functionality, let

users know that this function is available as soon as they enter your

website.

Further guidance on the use of keyboard shortcuts is available from

COI.

Keyboard shortcuts


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Make sure you have a pool of reliable content providers.

Quality check the editorial content and make sure it is easily

accessible, navigable and has no broken links.

Clear content with the appropriate people before publishing it.Check that it is in line with the overall communication strategy.

Reviewed overall content regularly.

Remove or archive content when appropriate.

Your web team's broad responsibilities should include:

Maintaining the integrity of the website's structure, content and

availability.

Publishing content and ensuring its consistency and accuracy.

Setting and maintaining your organisation's style guidelines for

the web.

Managing the contract with the hosting service.

Monitoring bandwidth availability and usage statistics.

Keeping internal stakeholders informed of performance against

targets.

Whether your website is produced internally or by an external

agency, we recommend full documentation at each stage. This will

be a useful reference both for current team members and future

staff.

Managing your site

Effective content

Effective day-to-day operation

Formal documentation


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Additionally, the following processes and procedures will be useful:

editorial and publishing process;

HTML production process;

production process for other document formats;

house style;

roles and responsibilities;

archiving;

backup;

management of external suppliers (including hosting);

records of software and licence agreements;

record of all domain names and sub-domains registered;

record of permissions granted by third parties for links to their

websites;

record of intellectual property rights permissions obtained for

materials such as text, graphics, audio and video clips;

management of passwords.

Do you have an effective content management strategy?

Is your bulletin board or discussion group moderated

effectively?

Do you have a clear acceptable use policy on the site?

Are the day-to-day operational responsibilities clearly assigned?Has the site been integrated into your contingency planning?

Do you have an appropriate security policy?

Will you receive useful data to enable you to evaluate the

success of your site?

How frequently will the site be evaluated?

Do you have a full set of management documentation?

Managing your site checklist


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Links enrich the content of any website and users findthem valuable, especially when set in context. Werecommend that links are provided on the page itself,rather than on a separate 'Useful links' page.

Make sure your links are relevant to the copy they follow.

Ensure that the actual text of the link would make sense if taken

out of the context of the preceding copy.

Make sure that links are easily recognisable and consistent

throughout the site

Do not use different colours for each section of a website.

Consider following the established convention of highlighting

them in blue, underlined text and reserve this style just for links.

Check regularly for broken links and ensure that links go to the

expected page or site.

Make sure the site has an easy-to-use way for users to report

link problems.

Links should describe the destination and make sense when

read out of context. Therefore, avoid the use of click here, for

example.

All NHS sites should link to nhs.uk and NHS Direct Online (

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) from the home page. If you wish to obtain a

copy of the NHS Direct logo, please contact your local NHS Direct

communications lead or email [email protected].

Links

How to link

Where to link


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The nhs.uk graphic is available from the NHS Connecting for Health

team.

Link freely to other NHS, DH and other government sites, as

well as local authority, academic or non-commercial sites.

Don't overwhelm users with links.

Make sure they are all useful and relevant.

Many sites publish their links policy on the site. Make sure you

follow their guidance on linking to their site. If no guidance is

given, contact the web manager for permission to link to their

site.

Take care with controversial issues and areas where there is

significant divergence between the NHS and non-NHS

organisations.

Provide balance and give due weight to the official NHS view.You may link to websites which express an alternative

argument to the official NHS view. However, if the opposing

viewpoint is based on poor evidence, rumour, hearsay, or

uncorroborated personal opinion, don't link to sites supporting it.

NHS sites should not directly link to commercial sites, unless you

are working with a commercial partner. There are two reasons for

this:

Commercial sites may contain biased or unbalanced content,

eg promoting particular products, services or companies over

others. You can deny endorsement through a disclaimer but

users may still believe the link implies some level of approval.

It would be unfair to link to one commercial site and not its

competitors. A perceived 'NHS endorsement' could give the

owning organisation competitive advantage and it is impractical

to link to all competing sites.


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Users can become disorientated or lost when exploring links. In the

worst case, they might unintentionally leave your site and be unable

to return. There are two solutions to this problem:

Rely on the user's ability to use the 'back' button on their

browser to get back to your site. This is an internet convention

but it will be frustrating for users who explore links in depth.

Open the link in a new window. Your site stays visible and

accessible but users can end up with multiple open windows,

which may crash some PCs.

There is no restriction on using logos as links to approved sites.

Don't give out the NHS or your organisation's logo to any

organisation outside the NHS to use as a link without the prior

consent of the DH branding team.

Bringing users back to NHS sites

Using logos as links


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Information and guidance on legal issues relating to websites such

as copyright, data protection, privacy, disability discrimination and

the Welsh language requirements are available from the Central

Office of Information.

Legal information

Legal issues


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COI Web Standards and Guidelines

http://www.coi.gov.uk/webguidelines/

DH Information Policy Unit:

www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/InformationPolicy/fs/en

(X)HTML validation: http://validator.w3.org

CSS validation: http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator

HTML to XHTML tidying tool:http://tidy.sourceforge.net

Colour contrast analysing tool:

http://juicystudio.com/services/colourcontrast.php

W3C accessibility checkpoints: www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/full-

checklist.html

e-Government Metadata Standard:

www.govtalk.gov.uk/schemasstandards/metadata.asp

Search Engine Report: www.searchenginewatch.com

Further help and resources


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If you haven't found the information you're looking for,the FAQs on the NHS Brand Guidelines website maygive you the answers.http://www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk/need-help

If you need further assistance, please contact the NHS Identity

helpline;

Telephone: 0207 972 5250 or 0207 972 5251

E-mail: [email protected]

NHS Comms Link

A secure 'one-stop shop' enabling NHS Communicators to sharenews, resources, ideas and experiences.

http://www.nhscommslink.nhs.uk

NHS Picture Library

Online resource for the NHS and relates social care organisations

http://www.nhs.uk/photolibrary

Further help and information

Other resources

http://www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk/need-helphttp://www.nhscommslink.nhs.uk/http://www.nhs.uk/photolibraryhttp://www.nhs.uk/photolibraryhttp://www.nhscommslink.nhs.uk/http://www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk/need-help

nhs foundation trusts guideline

Documents