Welcome to the Surrey Lodge Group Practice Publication Scheme. This is a guide to the practice Publication Scheme as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Under this act every public authority has a duty to specify what information they publish (in terms of information ‘classes’), how the information is made available, and whether it is available free of charge or upon payment.
Contents
Part I – Introduction
This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by the partners Dr Selina Dunn, Dr Patrick Webster and Dr. Hayley Medlock. 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.
1. How much does it cost?
With the current changes in legislation we will no longer be able to charge for copies of your medical records subject to the request not being unreasonable. However, we are still able to charge for certain medical reports. All request in writing to our Data Controller team and they will advise you accordingly.
Leaflets and brochures – free of charge for leaflets or booklets on, for example, services we offer to the public. A charge will be made to cover postage costs. A list of available publications is given in Class 4.
2. How is the information made available?
All information is available on the practice website.
3. Your rights to information
In addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about Surrey Lodge Group Practice 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 1 January 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.
4. 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 contact the Practice Manager.
Part II – Classes of Information
All information at Surrey Lodge Group 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 include 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
Description: Details of the practice, organisational structures, key personnel and how we fit into the NHS
How available: Website, paper copy
Charges: For paper copies only
Details of GPs and staff at our practice can be found on this website.
This practice operates under a Personal Medical Services contract.
The contract is with:
NHS England (Greater Manchester Area), 4th Floor, Three Piccadilly Place, Manchester, M1 3BN
www.england.nhs.uk/
The practice aims to follow National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and National Service Framework guidelines.
Copies of these can also be found on the NICE website: www.nice.org.uk
or the Department of Health website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health
The NHS is a very large part of the public sector. It is possible to find out information about our practice, NHS England and other NHS services in your area by using NHS Choices at www.nhs.uk.
A full list of local General Practices can be found there too. Surrey Lodge Group Practice provides primary medical services for the geographical area of part of Manchester.
Some information may be withheld, including personal, confidential information about individuals which is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998.
2. Our services
Description: The range of services we provide under contract to the NHS
How available: Website, paper copy
Charges: For paper copies only.
We offer a full range of primary healthcare services. This includes (please note the list is not exhaustive):
- Access to a doctor or nurse for undiagnosed conditions
- Ongoing monitoring of existing (chronic) conditions
- Certain immunisations
- Maternity medical services
- Contraceptive services
- National cancer screening programmes
- Counselling
- Minor surgery
For any policies relating to our services, please refer to Class 6.You can also see our practice leaflet which is available from reception at the surgery.
English is the only language spoken by staff at the practice. If your first language is not English then we can arrange for an interpreter to be present. This can take up to 4 days to arrange.
3. Financial and funding information
Description: Funding details and charging policies
How available: Website, paper copy
Charges: For paper copies only.
We receive money from NHS Manchester according to our contract (as per Class 1 above) in exchange for services provided for patients.
Income we received from the NHS before expenses is summarised in the table below. Money spent on drugs is paid on behalf of the practice and allocated to us: we do not receive this as income first.
| Year | total income | spent of drugs |
| 2001/02 | £750,958 | £924,369 |
| 2002/03 | £800,313 | £ |
| 2003/04 | £948,489 | £ |
| 2004/05 | £949,582 | £1,105,999 |
| 2005/06 | £1,004,781 | £1,067,785 |
| 2006/07 | £1,048,719 | £ |
| 2007/08 | £1,084,179 | £1,112,911 |
| 2008/09 | £1,124,314 | £1,111,190 |
| 2009/10 | £1,137,327 | £1,142,153 |
| 2011/12 | £1,058,050 | £1,097,470 |
| 2012/13 | £1,079,462 | £1,029,515 |
| 2012/13 | £1,079,462 | £1,029,515 |
| 2013/14 | £1,022,063 | £1,047,614 |
| 2014/15 | £1,073,984 | £1,108,342 |
Please apply to the Department of Health for Statement of Fees and Allowances payable for General Medical Practitioners in England and the formats this is available in.
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
Description: Guidance and information leaflets
How available: Website, paper copy
Charges: For paper copies only.
As a practice we publish the following documents. These are either freely available on the website or on request from the practice.You should enclose a stamped self addressed envelope if you would like the documents posting to you.
- Freedom of Information Act publication scheme
- Practice booklet (as pdf)
5. Complaints
Description: Policies, procedures and contacts for complaints
How available: Website, paper copy
Charges: For paper copies only. See here for fees.
If you feel any aspect of our service has not been to your satisfaction then please let us know. Please see our complaints prodecure for further details.
6. Our policies and procedures
Description: General policies and procedures in use within the practice
How available: Website, paper copy
Charges: For paper copies only. See here for fees.
We have policies available on the following. These are either freely available on the website or on request from the practice. You should enclose a stamped self addressed envelope if you would like the documents posting to you.
- Complaints
- Confidentiality
- Data protection
- Health and safety
- Information sharing with other agencies
- Prescribing
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 practice. We will also publish any proposed changes or additions to publications already available.
Part III: Useful Resources
Websites
NHS England
www.england.nhs.uk
Information Commissioner
www.ico.gov.uk
General Medical Council
www.gmc-uk.org