Dyfed Road Surgery Publication Scheme - Full Document.       

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Welcome to the Publication Scheme for Dr A McMillan and Partners General Practice.

This is a guide to the Publication Scheme for the Dyfed Road Practice in which each of the following practice as a partnership:

Dr Ann E McMillan

Dr Alun Harris

Dr Andrew Howe

Dr Alistair Bennett

Dr Greg Jones

Introduction

This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by the Dyfed Road Practice . It is a description of the information about each of the General Practitioners and the Practice itself 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 or on our web site www.dyfedroadsurgery.co.uk

Rights of Access to Information

At the present time, in addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about the Dyfed Road General Practice under the Code of Practice on Openness in the NHS issued by the Welsh Office in 1995. Hard copies of the Code of Practice are available free of charge from the NHS Wales Department of the Welsh Assembly Government: -

Assembly Publications Centre

The Assembly at the Pierhead

The National Assembly for Wales

Pierhead Street , Cardiff Bay , CF99 1NA

The information is also available on the Department of Health website www.doh.gov.uk. Sometimes some, or all, of the information cannot be provided and we will explain the reasons why when this happens.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 recognises that everyone has the right to know how public services, such as NHS Wales, are organised and run, how much they cost and how you can make complaints if you need to. You have the right to know which services are being provided, the targets that are being set, the standards of service that are expected, the results achieved and how decisions are made.

From January 1 st 2005 the Freedom of Information Act will require all General Practices to respond to requests about information they hold, and it will create a right of access to that information. The rights to request and access this information are subject to some exemptions which a General Practice has to take into consideration before deciding what information can be released.

The Environmental Information Regulations which came into force in 1993 set the standard for the release of information about the environment in which we live and work. These are likely to be strengthened within the next eighteen months under a European Union Directive. Until the new Regulations come into force, information relating to the Environment can be requested using the existing Regulations and the Code of Practice on Openness.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you are also entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you and you can contact The Practice Manager, Dyfed Road Health Centre, Neath to do this.

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:

The Practice Manager

Dyfed Road Health Centre

NEATH

SA11 3AW

CLASSES OF INFORMATION

All information at the Dyfed Road Practice is held, retained and destroyed in accordance with NHS Wales guidelines. Our commitment to publish information excludes any information which can be legitimately withheld under the exemptions set out in the Welsh Code of Practice on Openness in the NHS or The Freedom of Information Act 2000. Where individual Classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons relate to 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:

Who we are

The Practice has 5 full time partners as follows:

Dr Ann E McMillan MB, BCh, MRCGP, DRCOG

Dr Alun G Harris MB, BCh, DRCOG, Dip Occ Med

Dr Andrew D Howe MB, BCh, MRCGP, DRCOG

Dr Alistair C Bennett MB BCh, MRCGP, DRCOG

Dr Greg Jones MB, Bch MRCGP

In addition Dr Helen Brown MBBS, MRCGP, DRCOG, is employed in the Practice on a part time basis under the GP retainer scheme.

Dr Alex Spratt is attached to the practice as a GP Registrar

The Practice employs the following personnel:

2 Practice Nurses

Mrs Brigid Murphy RGN (Full time) & Mrs Julie Bater RGN (Part time)

1 full time practice manager

Mr Andrew Thomas.

District Nurses & Health Visitors

Both categories are attached to the practice:

The district nursing team is led by Sister Susan Hughes and Sister Ann Davies.

The health visitors are Claire Edwards and Ceri Thomas.

Further details on personnel are available in our practice leaflet, which is at reception, or on our website.

We have a National General Medical Services Contract with Neath Port Talbot LHB to deliver medical services. The practice aims to deliver services in line with National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance

and the National Service Frameworks for Wales . These documents can be accessed from the following websites:

www.nice.org.uk www.wales.nhs.uk

The NHS is a very large part of the public sector. A full list of local General Practices in Wales can be found on Neath Port Talbot Local Health Board's website. The Dyfed Road Practice provides general medical services for the Population of Neath and the surrounding area. The Neath Port Talbot LHB coordinates the health services provided by local family doctors (GPs).

.GPs are independent contactors working within the NHS.

1. Our Services

We provide a full range of services including:

General Medical Services, Child Health Surveillance

Contraception Maternity

More details are available from our practice leaflet.

The practice is registered under the Data Protection Act and complies fully with all aspects of the Act.

We are situated in Dyfed Road Neath and are available from 8:00 to 6:30pm .

Appointment times are:-

Monday to Friday 9:00-11:30am

3:00 - 5:30pm

Out of hours cover for the practice is provided by Primecare at Neath Port Talbot Hospital from 6:30pm-8:00am .

Two of the partners are Welsh speaking and we can offer interpretation services for most languages under the Language Line scheme.

Some of theGPs have special interests as follows:-

Dr Harris-Dermatology, Dr Bennett-Ophthalmology,

Dr McmIllan-Paediatrics and Dr Howe Diabetes.

1. Financial and funding information
   The Dyfed Road Practice receives funding from Neath Port Talbot Local Health Board according to the GMS Contract in exchange for services provided for patients. The total income received from the NHS before expenses in the year 2004-2005 will be £629,243.04 (This constitutes the Global Sum plus the Correction Factor). The sum spent on drugs prescribed by the Dyfed Road General Practice in 2003/2004 was £1,435,486.

1. Regular publications and information for the public

The Practice publishes a practice leaflet which is a comprehensive guide to the practice. Periodically we also publish a practice newsletter.

1. Complaints
   We operate an in house complaints policy and a copy of this policy is available from the practice manager.

1. Our policies and procedures

The practice has many policies in general use including:-

Health and Safety Policy Prescribing Policy

Staff Safety Policy Hepatitis B Policy

For more details, please contact the practice manager.

7. This Publication Scheme
This publication scheme will be reviewed regularly and any further

information can be obtained from the practice manager.

Cost of Information

For the most part, we will charge you only for hard copies. 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 Web Site - 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 or by personal application at the Dyfed Road 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 on, for example, services we offer to the public. A list is available from:

The Practice Manager.

c) "Glossy" or other bound paper copies, or other mediums, are available for a charge as stated in our publication list(s) available from:

The Practice Manager.

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

The charges will be reviewed regularly and be in line with other NHS organisations.

Useful Resources

Web sites:

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

This is the web site of the Information Commissioner.

www.lcd.gov.uk

This is the web site of the Lord Chancellor's Department.

www.wales.nhs.uk/foi

This is the web site for NHS Wales Freedom of Information.

www.nhs.foi.uk

This is the web site for NHS Freedom of Information.

Publications

Welsh Code of Practice on Openness in the NHS www.wales.nhs.uk

FOI Act 2000 www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts2000/2000036.htm

Code of Practice under Section 45 FOI Act 2000 www.lcd.gov.uk

Code of Practice under Section 46 FOI Act 2000 www.lcd.gov.uk

Statement of Fees and Allowances payable for General Medical Practitioners in England and Wales .

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 or contact: HMSO Licensing Division, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR 3 1BQ. Tel: 01603 621000.

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