Freedom Of Information Act – Gas House Lane Surgery

THE NHS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION PROJECT BOARD/BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION MODEL PUBLICATION SCHEME FOR GENERAL PRACTICES – 2014/15

Welcome to the Gas House Lane Publication Scheme. This is a guide to General Practitioners’ Publication Scheme as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Part One: Introduction

The publication scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by Drs O’Neill, Pearson & Evans. It is a description of the information about our 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 stated within each class.

How is the information made available?

The information within each class is available in hard copy.

Your rights to information

In addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about Gas House Lane Surgery 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 organized and run, how much they cost and how the decisions are made.
From January 1 2005 it will oblige any General Practice to respond to requests for 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 to your clinical records or any other personal information held about you and you can contact Susan Gutherson. Practice Manager, Gas House Lane Surgery, Morpeth NHS Centre, The Mount, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 2JX 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:

Paul Stanley

Practice Manager

Gas House Lane Surgery

Morpeth NHS Centre

The Mount

Morpeth

NE61 1JX

Part Two: Classes of Information

All information at Gas House Lane Surgery 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 Feedom of Information Act 2000.

Where individual Classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons are 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

Established at the turn of the century, we are the smallest practice in Morpeth. Our aim is to combine a high standard of medical care with friendly and personal service.

We share centrally located premises with the Local Primary Care Trust and their health care team. This team includes nursing staff, health visiting, podiatry, dental, counseling, physiotherapy and speech therapy.

Enquiries relating to the catchment area should be directed to reception staff.

Our Primary Health Care Team

THE DOCTORS

Dr John P J O’Neill MB BS MRCGP DRCOG, Registered 1987

Dr Gillian L Pearson MB BS MRCGP, Registered 1976

Dr Paul Evans MB BS DRCOG MRCGP

PRACTICE MANAGER

Mr Paul Stanley

Our Practice Manager is responsible for the smooth running of the practice and is available to assist patients on non-clinical matters. Our Practice Manager is employed by the GPs and directly responsible to them.

PRACTICE NURSES

Nicky Hooley

Donna Hutchinson

Our Practice Nurses provide a wide range of clinical care to our patients. Practice Nurses are directly employed by the GPs.

PRACTICE STAFF

We have a team of administrative staff who are available to assist patients and they will provide a friendly and personal service.

2 Our Services

Gas House Lane Surgery provides a wide variety of quality services to our patients. These services include: –

Diabetes
Asthma
Heart Health
Smoking Cessation
Maternity
Child Health
Contraception
Well Person Checks
Immunisation and Travel Vaccination
Minor Surgery
Acupunture
Private Medical Examinations – these services are outside the scope of the NHS and a fee will therefore be appropriate

3 Financial and funding information

Gas House Lane surgery receives a budget from the PMS to run the surgery and provide services to patients. Funding for the year 204/15 is made up as follows: –

PMS Budget £387,778

Staff budget 0

Details of charges for Non-NHS Work is displayed in the waiting area.

Regular Publications and information for the Public

The practice has a Leaflet available to all patients that includes: –

information on staff
services available
access
general information
advice on the treatment of minor illnesses and complaints.

In addition to this we have numerous information leaflets available within the practice and topical health promotion displays are organised in the reception area.

Clinical staff have access to health promotion and information leaflets via clinical computer software.

Complaints

The practice complaints procedure is available at reception.

Policies and Procedures

The practice has numerous policies and procedures covering data protection and confidentiality, repeat prescribing, and health and safety.

This Publication Scheme

Any changes to this Publication Scheme will be published in this section of the document.

The referral point for any enquiries regarding information within this Publication Scheme should be addressed to: –