Welcome to the Austen Road Surgery General Practitioner's Publication Scheme. This is a guide to the General Practitioners' (who practice together) within the partnership Publication Scheme as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Introduction This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by Drs Piper, Ewart & Blatchly (Austen Road Surgery) General Practitioners. It is a description of the information about our General Practitioners and Practice which we make publicly available. It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness. How is the information made available? The information within each Class is either downloadable from the practice website or available in hard copy from Mr M Brown, Practice Manager. Your rights to information * In addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about Austen Road Surgery General 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 the decisions are made. * From January 1st 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 Mr M Brown, Practice Manager, Austen Road Surgery, 1 Austen Road, Guildford, GU1 3NW 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: Mr M Brown, Practice Manager Austen Road Surgery 1 Austen Road Guildford GU1 3NW CLASSES OF INFORMATION All the information at the Austen Road Surgery General 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 Details of the practice, organisational structures, key personnel and how we fit into the NHS. Please see our Practice Booklet. 2. Our Services The range of services we provide under contract to the NHS - Please see our Practice Booklet. 3. Financial and funding information Funding details and charging policies will be made available from the Practice Manager upon request. 4. Regular publications and information for the public Guidance and information leaflets - Please see our Practice booklet 5. Complaints Policies, procedures and contacts for complaints - Please see our Practice booklet 6. Our policies and procedures General policies and procedures in use within the practice. These include, but are not restricted to, data protection, prescribing and prescription, health and safety - Please see our Practice booklet. 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 enquiries 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 or copying onto media (e.g. CD ROM). Some information is available free, but for others there be a charge. The charges will vary according to how information is made available. Charges are as follows: (a) Via the General Practice/Primary Care Trust 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 from Mr M Brown, Practice Manager or by personal application to the Austen Road Surgery 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 for leaflets or booklets on, for example, services we offer to the public. (c) There will be a charge of £30 for the provision of financial and funding information. (d) E-mail will be free of charge unless it says otherwise The charges will be reviewed regularly. 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.foi.nhs.uk This is the NHS Freedom of Information web site Primary Care Trust web site Publications * NHS Openness Code www.doh.gov.uk/nhssexec/codemain.htm * 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 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