Hungerford Medical Centre Publication Scheme

Hungerford Medical Centre Publication Scheme

Welcome to the General Practitioner Publication Scheme for Dr Michael Wilson; Dr John Howard; Dr Greg Hardy; Dr Andy Wilson; Dr Gemma Beegan. This is a guide to the General Practitioners (who practice together) within the partnership practice Publication Scheme as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Part I: Introduction

This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by Dr Michael Wilson; Dr John Howard; Dr Greg Hardy; Dr Andy Wilson; Dr Gemma Beegan as General Practitioners. It is a description of the information about our General Practitioners and Practice, which we make publicly available. It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.

How much does it cost?

The publications are all free unless otherwise indicated within each Class (with £). Where information is provided at a cost the charges will be calculated as set out in Class 7.

How is the information made available?

The information within each Class is available in hard copy from:

Practice Manager
Hungerford Medical Centre
School Crescent
Crewe
Cheshire
CW1 5HA
Tel: 01270 582589

Some information may be downloadable from the practice website (http://www.hungerfordmedicalcentre.co.uk/)

Your rights to information

·       In addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about Hungerford Medical Centre General Practice under the NHS Openness Code 1995.

·       The Freedom of Information Act 2000 recognises that members of the public have the right to know how public services are organised and run, how much they cost and how the decisions are made.

·       From January 1st 2005 it will oblige the General Practice to respond to requests about information that it holds, and is recorded in any format and it will create a right of access to that information. These rights are subject to some exemptions, which have to be taken into consideration before deciding what information it can release.

·       New environmental information regulations may be introduced as early as 2003. These will enable similar access to environmental information as under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

·       Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you are also entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you. For this, please contact:

Practice Manager
Hungerford Medical Centre
School Crescent
Crewe
Cheshire
CW1 5HA

Tel: 01270 582589
Email: alan.rickards@gp-N81044.nhs.uk

Feedback
If you have any comments about the operation of the Publication Scheme, or how we have dealt with your request for information from the Scheme, please write to:

Practice Manager
Hungerford Medical Centre
School Crescent
Crewe
Cheshire
CW1 5HA

Tel: 01270 582589
Email: alan.rickards@gp-N81044.nhs.uk

 

Part II: Classes of Information

All information at the Hungerford Medical Centre General Practice is held, retained and destroyed in accordance with NHS guidelines. Our commitment to publish information excludes any information which can be legitimately withheld under the exemptions set out in the NHS Openness Code or Freedom of Information Act 2000. Where individual Classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons are e.g. the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This applies to all Classes within the Publication Scheme. The information on this Scheme is grouped into the following broad categories:

1.      Who we are

Details of the practice, organisational structures, key personnel and how we fit into the NHS.

This practice adheres to the national General Medical Services contract. The contract is with: Central Cheshire Primary Care Trust, Bevan House, Barony Road, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 5QU, (http://www.ccpct.nhs.uk/)

The practice aims to follow National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and National Service Framework guidelines. Copies of these can also be found on the NICE website (www.nice.org.uk) or the Department of Health website (www.doh.gov.uk).

The NHS is a very large part of the public sector. It is possible to find out information about our practice, the Central Cheshire Primary Care Trust and other NHS services in your area by using www.nhs.uk. A full list of local General Practices can be found there too. The Hungerford Medical Centre provides general medical services for the geographical area of Crewe and surrounding villages.

The full names of GPs at our practice are listed in the introduction to this publication scheme. The practice also employs:

·       Administrative staff

·       Practice manager(s)

·       Practice nurse(s)

·       Receptionist(s)

·       Audit Facilitator

A full list of the services we provide is detailed in Class 2 below.

There is a national NHS Plan that explains how the NHS is changing and sets out how all the different parts function and work together. A copy is available on the Department of Health website (www.doh.gov.uk/nhsplan).

Some information will be withheld, including personal, confidential information about individuals which is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998.

2. Our services

The range of services we provide under contract to the NHS

This is the range of services we provide:

·       Baby clinic

·       Cervical cytology

·       Child health surveillance

·       Contraceptive services

·       Dietician

·       Disease management clinics

·       District nurse

·       Health promotions clinics (e.g. well man and well woman clinics)

·       Immunisations

·       Minor surgery services

·       Phlebotomy

·       Physiotherapy

·       Podiatry

·       Diabetic Clinic

·       Asthma Clinic

·       Anti-Coagulant Clinic

Some of these services are provided in partnership with other agencies, namely:

·       Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust

·       Central Cheshire Primary Care Trust

For any policies relating to our services, please refer to Class 6.

See also our practice leaflet which is available free of charge from:

Practice Manager
Hungerford Medical Centre
School Crescent
Crewe
Cheshire
CW1 5HA

Included in our practice leaflet is information on the following:

·       our practice address(es)

·       our opening and closing times

·       the arrangements we have for out of hours cover

 

3. Financial and funding information

Funding details and charging policies

The Hungerford Medical Centre receives money from Central Cheshire according to its contract (as per Class 1 above) in exchange for services provided for patients.

The total income received from the NHS before expenses in 2001/2002 was £701858. The sum spent on drugs prescribed by the Hungerford Medical Centre in 2001/2002 was £1.

Please see Part III for a link to the document titled “Statement of Fees and Allowances payable for General Medical Practitioners in England”. Please apply to the Department of Health for information on costs and the formats this is available in.

There may be circumstances where material cannot be released because it is confidential or commercial information or the appropriate officer designated for these purposes under the Act has taken the view that it may be prejudicial to the conduct of the Practice’s affairs.

4. Regular publications and information for the public

Guidance and information leaflets

Information leaflets relating to the clinical services and health services that we provide for patients and the public, and our range of regular publications are freely available at the surgeries, in the reception areas. Alternatively, please contact:

Practice Manager
Hungerford Medical Centre
School Crescent
Crewe
Cheshire
CW1 5HA
01270 582589

5. Complaints

Policies, procedures and contacts for complaints

If you wish to make a complaint about any aspect of our service, you should first contact:

Mr Alan Rickards
Practice Manager
Hungerford Medical Centre
School Crescent
Crewe
Cheshire
CW1 5HA
01270 582589

The complaints policy for our practice can be obtained at a cost of £ 10 from our website or in hardcopy from:

Practice Manager
Hungerford Medical Centre
School Crescent
Crewe
CW1 5HA
01270 582589

6. Our policies and procedures

General policies and procedures in use within the practice. These include (but are not restricted to) data protection, prescribing and prescription, zero tolerance and health and safety.

We have policies available on the following:

·       complaints

·       confidentiality

·       data protection

·       zero tolerance to violence

Each of the above are available in hardcopy and some are available on our website. If you would like a copy, please contact:

Practice Manager
Hungerford Medical Centre
School Crescent
Crewe
CW1 5HA
01270 582589

7. This publication scheme

In this class we will publish any changes we make to this publication scheme, the criteria on which our information management policies are made and a referral point for all enquires regarding information management generally in the practice. We will also publish any proposed changes or additions to publications already available.

Cost of Information
For the most part, we will charge you only for hard copies or copying onto media (e.g. CD-ROM). Some information is available free, but for others there may be a charge. The charges will vary according to how information is made available. Charges are as follows:

a) Via the General Practice website – free of charge, although any charges for Internet Service provider and personal printing costs would have to be met by the individual.

For those without Internet access, a single print-out as on the website would be available by post from Practice Manager, Hungerford Medical Centre, School Crescent, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 5HA or by personal application at the Hungerford Medical Centre General Practice.

However, requests for multiple printouts, or for archived copies of documents, which are no longer accessible or available on the web, may attract a charge for the retrieval, photocopy, postage etc. We will let you know the cost and charges that will have to be paid in advance. We will not provide printouts of other organisation’s websites.

b) Leaflets and brochures – free of charge for leaflets or booklets on, for example, services we offer to the public. A list is available in Class 4.

c) “Glossy” or other bound paper copies, or in some cases a CD-ROM, video or other mediums are for charge as in our publication lists available from Practice Manager, School Crescent, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 5HA, 01270 582589 , alan.rickards@gp-N81044.nhs.uk

d) E-mail will be free of charge unless it says otherwise.

The charges will be reviewed regularly.

Part III: Useful Resources

Websites:

·       Our website
http://www.hungerfordmedicalcentre.co.uk/

·       Central Cheshire Primary Care Trust
http://www.ccpct.nhs.uk/

·       Information Commissioner
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

·       Lord Chancellors Department
www.lcd.gov.uk

·       NHS Freedom of Information
www.foi.nhs.uk

·       General Medical Council
www.gmc-uk.org

Publications:

·       NHS Openness Code
www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexec/codemain.htm
www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexec/codeannx.htm

·       FOI Act 2000
www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000036.htm

·       Code of Practice under Section 45 FOI Act 2000
www.lcd.gov.uk/foi/codepafunc.htm

·       Code of Practice under Section 46 FOI Act 2000
www.lcd.gov.uk/foi/codemanrec.htm

·       Statement of Fees and Allowances payable for General Medical Practitioners in England
www.doh.gov.uk/pricare/fees.htm

Copyright: Material available through this Publication Scheme is subject to the General Practice’s copyright unless otherwise indicated. Unless expressly indicated to the contrary, it may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium provided it is done so accurately in a manner which will not mislead. Where items are re-published or copied to others, you must identify the source and acknowledge copyright status. This permit does not extend to third party material, accessed through the scheme. For HMSO Guidance Notes see www.hmso.gov.uk/guides.htm.