Freedom of Information Act Publication Scheme

The Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to ask for information held by public authorities, such as the NHS, and including GP practices.  The Act allows members of the public to see information about how public services are developed and delivered.  We  operate a publication scheme giving useful information about the practice. 

This is a guide to the General Practitioners within the partnership Publication Scheme as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

This publication scheme is a guide to the information routinely made available to the public by the practice. It is a description of the information about the GP’s and the practice which is publicly available.

How much does it cost?

The publications are all free unless indicated. Where there is a fee the charges will be calculated as set out Class 7.

How is the information made available?

The information within each class can be found on the practice website or in hard copy from our main surgery in Selby.

Your rights to information

In addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about the 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 decisions are made.

From January 2005 it will oblige the 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 exceptions which have to be taken into consideration before deciding what can be released.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you are also entitled to access your clinical records or nay other personal information about you. This can be done by contacting the practice manager at Beech Tree Surgery.

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.

Classes of Information

All information at the 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

Beech Tree Surgery is the trading name of:

• Dr Nicholas Jackson
• Dr Vikas Gupta
• Dr Nigel Wells
• Dr Anouche Fatheazam

The practice has a General Medical Services contract with: NHS England, Unit 3, Alpha Court, Monks Cross, York, YO32 9WN

The practice is contracted to provide medical services to registered patients, within an approximate 9 mile radius of the centre of Selby. A list of the services is detailed below under Class 2.

The practice aims to follow National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), and National Services Framework (NSF) guidelines, available at http://www.nice.org.uk/ or http://www.doh.gov.uk/ .

The practice employs the following groups of staff:

• Associate/Salaried GP's 
• Practice Management
• Practice Nurses 
• Dispensers, Administrative and Reception Staff, maintenance workers
• Also based at the surgery, but employed by NHS Foundation Trusts we have:
• Community Nurses
• Health Visitors
• Midwifes

There is a national NHS plan that explains how the NHS is changing and sets out how different parts function and work together. Please see www.doh.gov.uk/nhsplan

2. Our Services

Please refer to our practice Leaflet or this website for full details about the practice. The range of services includes:

• General Medical Services
• Contraceptive services
• Antenatal and postnatal services
• Child Health Surveillance
• Well person checks
• Immunisation Services
• Chronic Disease management Services
• Cervical Cytology Screening
• Minor Surgery
• Smoking Cessation Services
• Drug Misuse Support

3. Financial and funding information

The practice receives funding from NHS North Yorkshire & York according to Class 1 above.

Under the New GMS Contract the income we receive from the NHS is divided into the following:

• Global Sum
• Minimum Income Guarantee
• Aspiration Payment
• Enhanced Services
• Quality & Outcomes Framework 

In addition, our practice allocation as part of the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (VOYCCG) includes funding for the following

• Hospital Activity
• Ambulance Service
• Prescribing 
• Community Services
• Mental Health Services 

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

The practice publishes the following material:

• Practice Leaflet, available in hard copy or on our website
• Fees for non NHS work - available at each surgery premises, or on the website.
• Details regarding surgery times – available at each surgery and on the website
• Audit data, available by request only

5. Complaints

Our complaints procedure is in line with NHS North Yorkshire & Yorks advice. Details are available from reception at each of our sites and on the website.

6. Our policies and procedures

The practice has the following published policies, available on our practice Leaflet and on our website:

• Confidentiality
• Data Protection
• Dispensing Medications
• Repeat Prescriptions
• Complaints Policy
• Zero Tolerance

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 Trust. 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. 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:

Printouts via the 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 at our main surgery in Selby.  Hard copies of audits and other reports would attract a fee of £25.00 for administration plus a per sheet charge of 0.35p for each paper version. 

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.

The practice Leaflet is available free of charge from reception at each of our premises, and on the website. 

Hard copies of any of our publications listed above, other than the practice Leaflet, are available at a cost of £25 for administration and a per sheet charge of £0.35. 

e-mail will be free of charge unless it says otherwise

The charges will be reviewed regularly.

Useful Resources

Web sites:

http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/ - This is the web site of the Information Commissioner

http://www.lcd.gov.uk/ - This is the web site of the Lord Chancellor’s Department

http://www.foi.nhs.uk/ - This is the NHS Freedom of Information web site

Publications:

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

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

Code of practice under Section 45 FOI Act 2000 http://www.lcd.gov.uk/