The Sheepmarket Surgery

NHS Freedom of Information Publication

For General Practices

Welcome to the Sheepmarket Surgery General Practitioner’s 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. Mitchell and Partners; 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 much will it Cost?

Whilst the publication is free of charge there may be a cost to producing copies of the surgeries policies and procedures, upon request.  These costs are stated later in this publication

How is the Information Made Available?

The information within each Class is made available on the surgery website: www.sheepmarketsurgery.co.uk or in hard copy, upon personal application from Mrs Nikki Kelley, Practice Manager.

Your Rights to Information

In addition to accessing the information identified in the publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about The Sheepmarket 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 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 1988, you are also entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you and you can contact Mrs Nikki Kelley, the Practice Manager, at the Surgery, to be guided as to how you may 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 Mrs Nikki Kelley, Practice Manager, at the Surgery.

CLASSES OF INFORMATION

All information at the Sheepmarket 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 of 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:

• Who we Are
• Regular Publications for the Public
• Useful Resources
• Our Policies and Procedures
• Our Services
• Financial & Funding Information
• Complaints
• This Publication Scheme