Accessibility Policy
General Accessibility Policy
1. Introduction
Barclay Medical Practice is committed to ensuring that its digital content and systems are as inclusive and accessible as possible. It also has a legal obligation to comply with relevant regulations in this context, such as the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the “Accessibility Regulations”).
The Equality Act 2010 includes a general duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people (including providing alternative, more accessible formats of digital content available to disabled individuals upon request). The Accessibility Regulations build upon and clarify the Equality Act requirements for a digital context. Non-compliance with the Accessibility Regulations constitutes a failure to make reasonable adjustments, which constitutes a breach of the Equality Act 2010.
2. Purpose of the policy
The purpose of this policy is to establish Barclay Medical Practice’s framework for compliance with relevant legal accessibility requirements, and to outline the principles that it expects its staff to follow to meet these obligations.
3. Scope of the policy
This policy aspires to all new, updated and existing digital services and systems that are provided by Barclay Medical Practice; everyone that produces documents or content that will be published or made available to others on Barclay Medical Practice digital services and systems; and everyone involved in the procurement, management and/or development of a Barclay Medical Practice digital service or system.
For the purposes of this policy, a “digital system or service” refers to any Information Technology (IT) system accessed via a web browser or mobile device, whether for internal or external audiences, including clinical and administrative staff, patients, and the public. This applies to both user and administrative interfaces.
This includes but is not limited to:
- websites
- web-based systems
- documents and content hosted on a digital system
A digital system or service falls within the scope of the Accessibility Regulations if it is developed, controlled or branded by Barclay Medical Practice.
4. Policy statement
Barclay Medical Practice will implement relevant frameworks to ensure compliance with the Accessibility Regulations and all applicable legislation. It will monitor and assess any changes in legal requirements, and incorporate these changes into policy and control measures in a timely manner.
All digital systems will be developed and managed in accordance with the Accessibility Regulations. Any technical limitations will be identified and addressed.
Barclay Medical Practice requires that:
- All newly commissioned digital content and services, whether developed internally or by external providers, must comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.
- All existing digital content and services will meet at least conformance level 2 standard (AA) of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2.
- Any digital system or service that cannot be made fully accessible will be referred to Barclay Starlight Web Hosting for risk management. Where necessarily, this may be escalated for consideration of possible exceptions.
- Staff involved in content development must be trained in accessibility best practices and keep up-to-date about evolving accessibility standards.
Barclay Medical Practice will maintain and update digital accessibility statements in compliance with the Accessibility Regulations.
Where a user requests an alternative format for content due to existing accessibility limitations, Barclay Medical Practice will provide a suitable accessible format. If you experience any issues or accessibility concerns, please report them to our practice.
5. Accessibility statement
All practice websites authored by Barclay Medical Practice must include an accessibility statement that meets the requirements of the Accessibility Regulations and aligns with Government Digital Service (GDS) guidelines.
6. Exemptions to this policy and disproportionate burden assessment
The following circumstances may qualify as exemptions from the requirements of this policy:
- Where compliance is technically unfeasible or imposes a disproportionate burden based on the intended nature or purpose of the digital information resource or service.
- Where compliance would fundamentally alter the intended nature of the digital resource or service and thereby render it ineffective for its intended purpose.
- Where the issue of non-compliance is temporary, with defined efforts in place to rectify existing accessibility issues with the content in question by a specified deadline.
The Accessibility Regulations acknowledge that, in rare cases, full compliance may impose a disproportionate burden on a public sector organisation. For example, this may arise when the cost of addressing a specific accessibility issue significantly outweighs the benefit to users.
Where organisations consider that there may be a case for arguing disproportionate burden, they are legally required to carry out an assessment of the extent to which compliance with the Accessibility Regulations imposes a disproportionate burden, to consider certain factors and document the decision.
Where an exemption is considered on the grounds of disproportionate burden, Barclay Medical Practice is legally required to conduct a formal assessment and to document the justification for non-compliance.
All decisions regarding exemptions must be documented within the appropriate Accessibility Statement.
Accessibility Statement
Barclay Medical Practice is committed to providing an inclusive environment and ensuring digital accessibility for the widest possible range of users. Digital accessibility involves identifying and eliminating barriers to enable seamless engagement with our digital platforms and content. In line with this commitment, we strive to make our websites and mobile applications accessible in accordance with The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 No. 952, specifically adhering to WCAG 2.2 AA standards.
This accessibility statement applies to the website platform you are currently using, www.livingstonbarclay.com. Additional accessibility statements for specific Barclay practice websites can be found on their corresponding website platform, which should be read in conjunction with our general accessibility policy (as found above) and this accessibility statement.
Advice on accessing our content
To adapt our website content and functionality to your needs and preferences you can:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts through your browser
- zoom in up to 500% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability (My Computer My Way).
How accessible is this website?
This website is operated by Barclay Medical Practice. We know that some parts of this website aren’t yet fully accessible. For example:
- Some older PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents—usually external documents—are not fully accessible to screen reader software.
- Some multimedia content doesn’t yet have audio, captions or text description.
- Some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard.
Third party tools
Our website incorporates third-party content and functionality.
While we take measures to ensure accessibility compliance where possible, our ability to guarantee accessibility varies depending on our relationship with the third party.
When Barclay Medical Practice elects to integrate third-party content or functionality, we are responsible for ensuring that it aligns with accessibility standards.
However, where we are legally obligated to incorporate third-party content or functionality, we cannot reasonably be held responsible for its accessibility compliance. Similarly, when our website provides links to external third-party websites that may be beneficial to users, Barclay Medical Practice is not accountable for their accessibility, or the accessibility of any other digital information services or website platforms that Barclay Medical Practice does not manage. However, where possible, we will take reasonable steps to meet accessibility requirements and support accessibility compliance.
Certain third-party tools, content and/or functionality are integrated/featured on our website, and these have their own accessibility statements.
What to do if you are experiencing accessibility issues
If you have any problems accessing our website or related tools and functionality, please contact our IT Service Desk at admin@barclaystarlight.com
If you would like to request content that is featured on our website in a different format, and you are experiencing issues that make accessing the necessary format(s) difficult or impossible, please contact the Web Accessibility Team at admin@barclaystarlight.com
In most cases, you can expect a response within five working days.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the “accessibility regulations”). If you’re not satisfied with how we respond to your enquiry, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Barclay Medical Practice Fauldhouse is committed to making its practice website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed on this page.
Non-accessible content
We are working to achieve and maintain the AA standards of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. However, we are aware that some parts of our website are not fully accessible currently.
How we are currently prioritising accessibility issues
We are continually monitoring our website for accessibility.
Staff responsible for producing and managing content on the website are required to complete training on creating accessible content and improving existing materials to meet accessibility standards. In addition, we are collaborating with Barclay Starlight Web Hosting to address and resolve issues relevant to accessibility affecting both content and systems.
If you would like more detailed information on the steps we are taking to fix a particular issue please contact admin@barclaystarlight.com
How we tested this website
We are currently auditing our websites per platform. The test is carried out internally on a sample of pages using automated tools as well as manual testing.
This statement was prepared on 11 March 2025. It was last updated on 21 March 2025.
