Board Members – NHS Orkney

Out of Hours – NHS Orkney

Inpatient Unit 2 – NHS Orkney

Media/Communications – NHS Orkney

Waiting Times – NHS Orkney

Public Protection (Safeguarding) – NHS Orkney

Corporate Publications – NHS Orkney

Patient Travel – NHS Orkney

Audiology – NHS Orkney

Postal Issues – NHS Orkney

Two adjacent links should not point to the same destination. You almost always want to combine the 
two links.

For example, it is quite common to link an image and text together like this:

```html
<a href="news.html">
    <img src="photo.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
<a href="news.html">
    News
</a>
``` 

These adjacent links should be combined like so:

```html
<a href="news.html">
    <img src="photo.jpg" alt="" />
    News
</a>
``` 

Links to `#` are ignored, as these are nearly always placeholders for JavaScript, e.g.:

```html
<a href="#" onclick="approve()">
    OK
</a>
<a href="#" onclick="reject()">
    Cancel
</a>
```

# Justification

Many users of assistive technology are only able to experience content sequentially - that is, they must
step through each part of the page, one part at a time. Often this is a slow process, potentially 
hampered by a physical impediment.

Stepping through redundant links is time consuming; for example users of a screen reader must 
hear each link read aloud in turn. 

This also simplifies your code. 

# Methodology

1. Find all links (`<a>` tags) on the page.
2. Ignore links pointing to `#`, as these are usually placeholders for JavaScript.
3. Flag links which are (a) separated only by whitespace and (b) which point to the 
   same absolute URL.  

# Learn more

Read about [Technique H2](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/H2) on how to combine
an adjacent image and texts links.

duplicate-adjacent-link

September 2025

August 2025

NHS Orkney

	Title / URL	Issues
	Board Members – NHS Orkneywww.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/about-us/board-members/	2
	Out of Hours – NHS Orkneywww.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/our-services/out-of-hours/	1
	Inpatient Unit 2 – NHS Orkneywww.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/our-services/inpatient-unit-2/	1
	Media/Communications – NHS Orkneywww.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/our-services/media-communications/	1
	Waiting Times – NHS Orkneywww.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/about-us/waiting-times/	1
	Public Protection (Safeguarding) – NHS Orkneywww.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/our-services/public-protection/	1
	Corporate Publications – NHS Orkneywww.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/about-us/corporate-publications/	1
	Patient Travel – NHS Orkneywww.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/our-services/patient-travel/	1
	Audiology – NHS Orkneywww.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/our-services/audiology/	1
	Postal Issues – NHS Orkneywww.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/postal-issues/	1

Combine adjacent links with the same destination

NHS Orkney

Where this issue has occurred