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Freedom of Information Scheme
Part Two: Classes of
Information
All
information at Priorslegh Medical Centre is held, retained and destroyed
in accordance with NHS guidelines. The information on this Scheme is
grouped into the following broad categories:
1.
The NHS and how we fit in
2.
Who we are
3.
Our Services
4.
How we use public money
5.
Complaints
6.
Regular Publications and Information for the Public
7.
This Publication Scheme
In
selecting information to be included in each class, we have to take into
account that some of the material included in the contents may be exempted
from disclosure under the NHS Openness Code or the Freedom of Information
Act. This means that sometimes not all of the material can be made
available for publication or the material may be edited.
The
NHS and how we fit in
The NHS Plan
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 web site.
The
Practice aims to follow NICE and
National Service Framework (NSF)
guidelines, and locally agreed policies and guidelines.
The NHS forms a very large part of the Public
sector. A full list of local General Practices can be found on the
website of the Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust. Priorslegh Medical
Centre provides primary care medical services under a Personal Medical
Services contract with Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust, to the
patients in the practice catchment area, which is detailed in the
Practice Booklet - copies available free of charge at the Practice.
A
full list of
our services appears in Class 3 of the Publication
Scheme.
Who we are
Details of the General Practice organisational structure and key personnel
are outlined in the Practice booklet available free of charge from
Priorslegh Medical Centre, and also by following the links on this
website.
Details include the full name and qualifications of each Partner and other
doctors who work in the Practice; their gender and whether they are full
or part time; senior managers and senior health professionals employed by
the Practice e.g. Executive Manager, Nurse Practitioner, Practice Nurses. We also give information about staff employed by Eastern Cheshire
Primary Care Trust who are attached to the Practice. For further details
about these staff please consult the PCT’s Publication Scheme.
The
Practice has a local Personal Medical Services contract with the Eastern
Cheshire Primary Care Trust, and the Partners are independent contractors
who each have an individual contract with ECPCT to provide primary care
services for patients registered with the Practice
Some
information will be withheld, including personal, confidential information
about individuals, which is protected by the Data Protection Act.
Our
Services
Our
services are outlined in the Practice booklet, and on this website. This explains the range of services that we provide
ourselves or together with other agencies.
Some
services may involve information-sharing (e.g. child protection
conferences) with other agencies, and our policy on data protection and
the protocols we have agreed with other agencies about information sharing
arrangements are available from Priorslegh Medical Centre free of charge.
Hours of opening are set out in the Practice booklet and on the website,
together with
our arrangements for out-of-hours cover and emergencies.
All
our clinicians consult in English; interpreters can be arranged and need
to be booked in advance via the Primary Care Trust or by contacting the
Practice.
All
the doctors can be consulted about any problem that lies within the
Practice remit. For certain problems you may be advised to see a
particular doctor after the initial consultation.
There are no doctors with General Practice Special Interest sessions at
this Practice.
Financial & funding information
This Class sets out how we obtain our NHS funding.
Priorslegh Medical Centre receives money
from Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust according to its contract (as per
Class 1 above) to provide primary care services to patients registered
with the Practice.
The total income received from the NHS before expenses in 2004/2005 was
£1,074,702. From this sum the expenses and
costs of running the Practice, providing NHS treatments and services to
our patients, and staff costs must be deducted.
The sum spent on NHS drugs prescribed by the clinicians of Priorslegh Medical Centre for
2004/2005 was £1,815,865.
There may be circumstances where information cannot be released because it
is confidential or commercially sensitive 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.
5.
Publications and Information for the Public
Our policies covering
Confidentiality,
Zero Tolerance to
Violence and Verbal Abuse,
Data Protection, and
Removal of Patients from the Practice
List are included in the Practice booklet available free of charge
from Reception, and can also be viewed by clicking on the appropriate
link above.
Information leaflets relating to clinical services and health services are
freely available at the surgery, in the Reception area.
Some
of this information is of a personal and confidential nature and may be
excluded, as will any other confidential material. Material relating to
the health and safety of specific individuals, as to law enforcement or
criminal or regulatory enforcement issues may also be excluded from
publication. There may be circumstances where material cannot be released
because the appropriate officer designated for these purposes under the
Act has taken the view that it may be prejudicial to the conduct of public
affairs.
6.
Complaints
A copy of the Complaints Procedure for
the Practice is available free of charge from Reception and can also be
viewed by clicking here.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of the care or service you receive, you
should discuss it at the time with the person concerned. It is often
possible to resolve a problem quickly and easily at the time it occurs. If
you wish to make a formal complaint please ask at Reception for a copy of
the Practice Complaints procedure, or write to the Executive Manager.
7.
This Publication Scheme
The
Freedom of Information Act does not change the right of patients to
protection of their patient confidentiality in accordance with Article 8
of the Human Rights Convention, the Data Protection Act and at common law.
Maintaining the right to patient confidentiality continues to be an
important commitment on our part. To help with this, the Primary Care
Trust has appointed someone who is called a Caldicott Guardian, and who
has responsibility to ensure the protection of patient confidentiality.
The Caldicott Guardian responsible for Priorslegh Medical Centre is:
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Name: |
Brenda Andrews |
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Address: |
Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust |
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Winterton House |
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Winterton Way |
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Macclesfield |
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Cheshire |
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Tel: |
01625 580300 |
The
Caldicott Guardian oversees the governance of access to patient
identifiable information for all the General Practices in the Eastern
Cheshire Primary Care Trust.
Under Section 19 of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (there is a link to the Act in
Part Three )
each General Practice has a legal duty to adopt and maintain a Publication
Scheme for the publication of the information held. The purpose of the Act
is to promote greater openness by public authorities, which includes
General Practitioners. From 2005 it will also oblige the General Practice
to respond to requests about the information that they hold which is
recorded in any form and it will create a right of access to that
information. These rights are subject to some exemptions, which the
General Practice has to take into account before deciding what information
can be released. This combined Publication Scheme will help you to find
all the information, which the General Practitioners in the Priorslegh
Medical Centre publish.
This
combined Publication Scheme aims to make available as much information as
possible about Priorslegh Medical Centre on a continuous basis. We will
continue to add to the information proactively and regularly.
Whenever we make any changes to any of the information we will try to
ensure that the Publication Scheme reflects these changes.
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