Under the Freedom of Information Act model publication scheme

· Welcome to the Wistaria & Milford General Practitioner’s Publication Scheme. 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 ONE: Introduction

This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by Dr Christopher Seward, Dr, David Read, Dr Gareth Morris, Dr Neale Whitley, Dr Neil Read, Dr Angela Sizer, Dr Charlotte Woodward, Dr Anna Eakins & Dr Matthew Turner. It is a description of the information about our General Practitioners and Wistaria & Milford Surgeries that we make publicly available. It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.

Your rights to information

· In addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about Wistaria & Milford Surgeries 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 1^st 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 and you can contact Jan Lamont (Practice Manager) to do this at either Wistaria Surgery or Milford Medical Centre.

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:

· Jan Lamont (Practice Manager) at either Milford Medical Centre or Wistaria Surgery.

How do we make information available?

· Information may be downloaded from our practice websites: www.milfordmedicalcentre.com or www.wistariasurgery.com

alternatively it is available in hard copy from the Practice Manager as indicated for each class of information.

· Feedback

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

· The Practice Manager

· Milford Medical Centre or to Wistaria Surgery

· Sea Road Wistaria Court

· Milford On Sea 18 Avenue Road

· Lymington Lymington

· SO41 0PG SO41 9GH

Part Two: Classes of Information

· All information at Wistaria & Milford Surgeries is held, retained and destroyed in accordance with NHS guidelines.

· Our commitment to publish information excludes any information that 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 the protection of commercial interests and the protection of confidential personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This applies to all classes within the Publication Scheme.

· The information included in this scheme is grouped into 7 broad categories.

Information covered by this scheme is only about the primary, general or personal medical services we provide under contract to the National Health Service and if required must be requested in writing.

Information to be published	How the information can be obtained
Class1 - Who we are and what we do (Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts)	Practice Leaflet Hard Copy Email Practice Website www.milfordmedicalcentre.com or www.wistariasurgery.com NHS Choices Website www.nhs.uk
Doctors in the practice	As above
Contact details for the practice	As above
Opening hours	As above
Other staffing details	As above
Class 2 – What we spend and how we spend it (Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit)	As directed by the PCT
Total cost to the PCT of our contracted services. Total NHS Income Total Expenditure	Available upon request from PCT
Audit of NHS income	Available upon request from PCT
Class 3 – What our priorities are and how we are doing (Strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews)	PCT Website www.hampshirepct.nhs.uk PCT Annual plan

Plans for the development and provision of NHS services	PCT Website www.hampshirepct.nhs.uk PCT Annual plan
Class 4 – How we make decisions (Decision making processes and records of decisions)
Records of decisions made in the practice affecting the provision of NHS services We have records of such but will NOT publish due to confidentiality and commercial sensitivities
Class 5 – Our policies and procedures (Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities)	All Practice policies and procedures comply with PCT guidelines and are classed as commercially sensitive.
Policies and procedures about the employment of staff	All Practice policies and procedures comply with PCT guidelines and are classed as commercially sensitive
Internal instructions to staff and policies relating to the delivery of services	All Practice policies and procedures comply with PCT guidelines and are classed as commercially sensitive
Equality and diversity policy	All Practice policies and procedures comply with PCT guidelines and are classed as commercially sensitive
Health and safety policy	All Practice policies and procedures comply with PCT guidelines and are classed as commercially sensitive
Complaints procedures (including those covering requests for information and operating the publication scheme)	As per current NHS guidelines, poster displayed and leaflets available.
Records management policies (records retention, destruction and archive)	All Practice policies and procedures comply with PCT guidelines and are classed as commercially sensitive
Data protection policies	All Practice policies and procedures comply with PCT guidelines and are classed as commercially sensitive
Policies and procedures for handling requests for information	All Practice policies and procedures comply with PCT guidelines and are classed as commercially sensitive
Patients’ charter	Practice Leaflet
Class 6 – Lists and Registers (Any publicly available register or list)	None held see PCT Website www.hampshirepct.nhs.uk
Class 7 – The services we offer (Information about the services we offer, including leaflets, guidance and newsletters produced for the public)	Website Practice Leaflet Parrish Newsletter
The services provided under contract to the NHS Those contained within the General Medical Services/Personal Medical Services	Website Practice Leaflet
Charges for any of these services	No charges for NHS Services provided for UK residents
Information leaflets Available in the practice in waiting/public areas	Practice leaflet
Out of hours arrangements Provided by: OOH Service Telephone 08448113060 between the hours of 6.30pm – 8.00am weekdays and all Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.	Website Practice Leaflet
Charges for any of these services: Some information is available free, but there may be a nominal charge to cover costs if you require a hard copy of information. These charges will vary according to how information is made available. Charges for information requests are as follows: Website – free of charge (charges by internet service provider and personal printing costs would have to be met by the individual). The practice web address is: www.milfordmedicalcentre.com or www.wistariasurgery.com If you do not have internet access, a single print out from the website would be available by post from the Practice Manager or by personal application at the practice. The practice charges 25p per sheet + the cost of postage if required Requests for multiple printouts, or for archived copies of documents that are no longer accessible or available on the web, will attract a small 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 are not able to provide printouts of other organisations websites. These charges will be reviewed regularly
Information leaflets Leaflets and brochures available at the Practice are free of charge any publication requested that must be bought will be charged to the patient.