Widening Participation- Med/Dent school, dealing with lower than cut off

How do you apply for widening participation and what is everything I should know in terms of this. Anytime I look at Uni websites its only about the criteria but nothing about the process. I am no longer in yr 12, is it too late? Some people say you do it in year 12, some say in year 13 and some have even told me it is automatic- if you meet the criteria UCAS does this automatically.
For context, I am a bright student but unfortunately got lower than expected on my UCAT (not horrible but the competition is really high). I did get band 1 however, but I dont think many universites bother that much abt SJT until at least the interview section. I also had a mitigating circumstance of a close relative who passed away close to my exam date. Any help is appreciated

Most of the time its automatic.
Unis should specify on their site
However look into Partners Programme for newcastle uni and check if ur eligible. they have an eligibility checker on their website