How medicalcentreuk.org/ Works for People With Disabilities
This page sets out our commitment to accessibility on this site, the standards we work to (WCAG 2.1 Level AA), the assistive technologies we test against, the UK legal framework (Equality Act 2010), the specific features we have built, the limitations we know about (including in many NHS practice portals we link to), and how to tell us about a barrier you have encountered.
What is on this page
1. Our Commitment
medicalcentreuk.org/ is built so that anyone — using any device, any browser, any assistive technology — can find a UK medical centre, follow a step-by-step practice walkthrough, see opening hours and CQC rating, and reach the right desk without barriers. Accessibility is not an afterthought. We test against assistive technologies on every major page template before publication and on a quarterly cycle thereafter.
2. Standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AA
We work to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. This is the standard expected for UK public-sector websites under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018, and the standard generally taken as a benchmark for meeting the reasonable-adjustments duty under the Equality Act 2010 for digital content. As a private publisher we are not directly within the scope of the 2018 Public Sector Accessibility Regulations, but we voluntarily target the same standard.
3. UK Legal Framework
| Law | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Equality Act 2010 | Prohibits disability discrimination in services and employment across Great Britain. Imposes the reasonable-adjustments duty (section 20) on service providers. Applies to a service provider’s digital content where the content is part of the service offered. |
| Public Sector Equality Duty (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010) | Applies to NHS bodies, ICBs, and other public authorities we link to. Requires due regard to advancing equality and eliminating discrimination. |
| Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Northern Ireland) | The Equality Act 2010 does not extend to Northern Ireland; disability discrimination in NI is governed by the DDA 1995 (and the Equality Commission for NI). |
| Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 | Requires UK public-sector websites (including NHS websites) to meet WCAG 2.1 AA and to publish an accessibility statement. We voluntarily mirror this standard. |
| BS 8878:2010 / ISO 30071-1:2019 | British / international standards for inclusive web accessibility commissioning practice. Used as reference for our internal procurement and design decisions. |
4. Specific Accessibility Features We Have Built
Semantic HTML
Proper heading hierarchy (Yoast manages H1; H2/H3 in our templates), nav, main, article, section, footer landmarks.
17px+ body text
Body copy is at least 17px on all pages — comfortable reading for most users without zoom.
4.5:1+ text contrast
All body text meets WCAG AA contrast (4.5:1) against its background; large text and UI components meet 3:1 minimum.
Keyboard-only navigation
Every link, button, form control, and interactive element is reachable and operable using Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, and Space.
Visible focus indicators
Focus outlines are not removed; the default browser focus ring is preserved on every interactive element.
Descriptive link text
Links describe their destination — e.g., “CQC inspection report for [practice]” rather than “click here.” Each external link has rel=noopener and target=_blank.
Logical reading order
Source-order matches visual order; CSS layout never reverses, scrambles, or hides content from screen readers.
Responsive without zoom traps
Pages reflow at 320px width; pinch-zoom is not disabled; user-scalable=yes.
Form labels
Every form control has a programmatic label or aria-label; error messages are announced.
Reduced motion
The site respects prefers-reduced-motion and avoids gratuitous animation.
Plain English
Directory entries, walkthroughs, and framework summaries are written at roughly a GCSE reading level. We avoid clinical jargon where plain English serves equally well.
HTML walkthroughs as alternative
Where an NHS portal has accessibility barriers, our HTML walkthrough provides an alternative path to the same information.
5. Assistive Technology Compatibility
We test against the following combinations on every major page template before publication:
- NVDA + Firefox / Chrome on Windows
- JAWS + Chrome on Windows
- VoiceOver + Safari on macOS
- VoiceOver + Safari on iOS
- TalkBack + Chrome on Android
- Narrator + Edge on Windows (smoke test)
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking — voice-only navigation smoke test
- Browser zoom at 200% and 400%
- High-contrast mode in Windows and macOS
6. Known Limitations
- Some third-party advertising units may not always meet our internal standards. We work with our advertising partners and reject ad units that fail material accessibility checks.
- Embedded videos from third-party platforms (where used) inherit those platforms’ accessibility features — captions, transcripts, audio description where the source provides them.
- Some legacy practice entries built before our current accessibility framework may have minor remaining issues — we are working through them on a rolling quarterly review and welcome reports.
7. NHS Practice Portals Are Not Always Accessible
Many NHS GP practice online portals (online appointment booking systems, online prescription ordering, online consultation forms) have residual accessibility gaps on certain assistive-technology combinations — uncaptioned NHS video tutorials, modal dialogs that trap focus, dynamic appointment-slot tables that do not announce updates to screen readers, GIS maps of practice locations with poor keyboard accessibility, prescription-ordering forms with required-field indicators conveyed by colour alone, and legacy portals that pre-date current accessibility standards. This is not within our control — those are NHS systems, governed by the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. We provide HTML walkthroughs of NHS procedures as an alternative path to the same information, so that, in many cases, you can plan and prepare your practice registration, repeat prescription, or appointment booking from our fully accessible HTML before you encounter the NHS portal itself.
If you cannot use an NHS portal because of an accessibility barrier, you have rights under the Equality Act 2010 (the reasonable-adjustments duty applies to NHS-provided services) and the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the relevant UK enforcement body (equalityhumanrights.com); in Northern Ireland, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
8. Reporting a Barrier
If you encounter a barrier — a page or feature that does not work with your assistive technology, contrast that is hard to read, a control that cannot be reached by keyboard, or anything else that gets in your way — please tell us. Reports drive our priority queue.
Email info@medicalcentreuk.org with subject line Accessibility issue.
If you can, include:
- The page URL where you hit the barrier
- Your operating system and browser
- The assistive technology you were using (e.g., NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack, Dragon)
- What you were trying to do
- What happened (or did not happen)
Acknowledge in 1-3 working days. Substantive response or fix within 14 working days for most issues. For severe barriers (e.g., unable to access important content or complete a critical task), within 5 working days.
9. Escalation
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have additional options:
- Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) — the GB-wide regulator with enforcement powers under the Equality Act 2010 — equalityhumanrights.com
- Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) — free advice on equality and human rights issues in England, Wales, and Scotland — equalityadvisoryservice.com
- Equality Commission for Northern Ireland — equalityni.org
- Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — where the accessibility issue intersects with a data protection right (for example, inability to exercise a Subject Access Request because of a portal accessibility barrier)
- The relevant inspector (CQC, HIW, HIS, RQIA) — where the accessibility concern relates to service quality at a regulated provider
- Government Digital Service (GDS) — for cross-government digital accessibility guidance — gov.uk/service-manual
- W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines — the standard we work to — w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag
10. Review Cycle
This statement is reviewed quarterly. Page templates are re-tested against the AT combinations above on each review cycle. The “Last reviewed” date at the top reflects the most recent review.
Hit a Barrier? Tell Us.
Email us with subject line “Accessibility issue.” Acknowledge in 1-3 working days; fix within 14 working days for most issues, 5 for severe.
📧 info@medicalcentreuk.org