Upton Group Practice
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Upton Group Practice |
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THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 Please note that if you are printing this from our website you will need to print it as a Landscape document otherwise you will lose the edges of the text. This Publication Scheme provides a guide to the services and practitioners who practice together within the Upton Group General Practice as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It based on the model publication scheme for general practices produced by the NHS Freedom of Information (FOI) project board and the British Medical Association. PART ONE: INTRODUCTION This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by : Dr P S Larkin Dr T M Partridge Dr G M Annett Dr H V Kini
It is a description of the information about Upton Group Practice and the General Practitioners who work there that is available to the public. It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness. Your rights to information 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 the FOI Act 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. In addition to accessing the information identified in this Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about Upton Group Practice under the NHS Openness Code 1995. 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 the Practice Manager at Upton Group Practice to do this. 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. This practice aims to follow national and local best practice guideline, including the NICE best practice guidelines and the National Service Frameworks. Some information will be withheld including personal, confidential information about individuals that is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998. How much does it cost and how do we make the information available? 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 are as follows: a) Web site – Free of charge – (charges for Internet Service provider and personal printing costs would have to be met by the individual) The practice website address is www.uptongrouppractice.co.uk and the PCT web address is www.wirralhealth.org.uk/privacy 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 35p per sheet + the cost of postage if required. To obtain a hard copy of any of the information – or for other details in this scheme where it lists the Practice Manager as the contact – please apply to Mrs Peta Murphy Practice Manager Upton Group Practice, 32 Ford Road, Upton Wirral CH49 0TF
Tel: 0151 677 0486
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 organisation’s websites. b) Leaflets and brochures - Free of charge for most leaflets or booklets on, for example, services we offer to the public. c) “Glossy” or bound paper copies, CD Rom, video or other copies will attract a charge. d) e-mail information – free of charge unless specified otherwise. These charges will be reviewed regularly. 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. PART TWO: CLASSES OF INFORMATION All information at the Upton 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 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. Class 1 information - Who we are and what we do Upton Group Practice 32 Ford Road Upton Wirral CH49 0TF Upton Group Practice is a five-Partner practice situated on the Wirral peninsula and it serves patients in Upton and the surrounding areas. Since April 2001 Upton Group Practice has been part of the Birkenhead and Wallasey Primary Care Trust (PCT) along with over 40 other practices in the area. In April 2006 Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT merged with Bebington and West Wirral PCT to become Wirral PCT. Upton Group Practice is therefore now part of Wirral PCT and the practice supplies services in accordance with a General Medical Services contract held with Wirral PCT. This website gives details on our practice as follows:- A full list of other local General Practices can be found on the PCT website www.wirralhealth.org.uk/privacy Key personnel :
For further details on key personnel in our practice use this hyperlink – Profiles Or click on any of these Primary Healthcare Team Members The practice is open at the following hours:- Weekdays 8.30am - 6.30pm Closed at lunchtime 12.30pm – 1.30pm Saturdays closed all day Sundays closed all day Out of Hours cover Out of hours cover is provided by the Wirral Out of Hours Service between the hours of 6.30pm – 8.00am on weekdays, and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. The telephone number for the Wirral Out of Hours Service is 678 8496 Language Members of staff conduct consultations in English. Please contact us in advance if translation services are required. Class 2 information - What we spend and how we spend it How are we funded by the NHS? Upton Group Practice receives money from Wirral PCT according to its contract with the Trust in exchange for services provided for patients. You can link to details on how General Practice is funded at present via the following website – www.doh.gov.uk and in the search facility type GMS Statement of Financial Entitlements for 2005 onwards What we spend and how In the year to 31 March 2008 the total cost to the NHS for our practice was £1090262. Our expenses include professional expenses, medical expenses, premises expenses, staff expenses, administrative expenses and depreciation. For some of the services we provide – which are outside the scope of the NHS, there is a charge and we keep these charges in line with those recommended by the British Medical Association (BMA). Details of the charges are given by clicking this hyperlink – Fees Class 3 information – what our priorities are and how we are doing Each year in April we produce a Practice Development Plan setting out our objectives for the year ahead under the following headings:- v Staffing Issues v Contractual Issues v Information Management and Technology (IM&T) v Planning, Review and External Liaison issues v Premises This Plan provides our general priorities framework for the year although as other opportunities for development occur during the year we consider them and take them up as appropriate. At the end of each year as we are drafting our next annual Practice Development Plan we produce a report on the Plan for the year that is ending so we can see what we have achieved and what, if anything, we need to carry over. You can request copies of our current Practice Development Plan and/or our previous Practice Development Plan and report by applying to the Practice Manager. Class 4 – How we make decisions Throughout the year we hold regular meetings within the practice as follows:-
All issues regarding the practice and any changes proposed are discussed at the appropriate level of meeting and all meetings are minuted and the minutes shared with key personnel in the practice, including the line managers who then brief their staff teams as necessary. Copies of the minutes of all meetings are held centrally within the practice for reference by any member of the team. In addition to the regular meetings detailed above we also have allocated “Clinical and Admin Training sessions run on an afternoon per month throughout the year. For about a third of these events Wirral PCT organises an external training event for practices. The remainder of the sessions are for us to use at practice level to organise our own training and we use these sessions to:- v complete our regular CPR training v discuss the feedback from our patient survey and draw up our resulting action plan v discuss our Practice Development Plan with the full practice team v receive update training on employment law and health and safety issues v do strategic planning on things such as Planning for Pandemic Flu or developing our Practice Disaster Plan v hold further planning and discussion meetings as required to discuss and plan how we will take on new services offered by the PCT. Class 5 Information – Our policies and procedures We have the following policies and procedures laid down for use in the practice: Staff Confidentiality agreement Handbook for General Practice Staff Information Security Policy Access to Health Records Policy Data Protection Policy Health and Safety Policy Policy on Improved Access
The ones in italics above are available from this website. Look under the heading “Information” or click the following Hyperlink Data Protection. This practice follows the NHS complaints procedure and follows a strict protocol when dealing with all complaints. A copy of the practice complaints procedure is available from reception. The following published information is available. - Practice Brochure - Practice Charter
You can request a copy of any of the above by contacting the Practice Manager. In addition to our Practice Brochure and Practice Charter the practice offers a range of information about a variety of issues and a considerable number of minor illnesses via the practice website. You can also find a list of Useful Contacts and links to other health-related websites on our website. Look under the heading “Useful Contacts” or click the following hyperlinks for details on Useful Contact Telephone Numbers Look under the heading “Information” or click the following hyperlink for details on Look under the heading “Medication” or click the following hyperlinks for details on Look under the heading “Advice” or click the following hyperlinks for details on General Health Education Advice Look under the heading “Advice” and then “Minor Ailments” or click the following hyperlinks for details on
Class 6 Information – Lists and Registers The most important list we maintain in our list of registered patients. We have approximately 8200 patients registered with the practice. The list is confidential. In accordance with the requirements of the New General Medical Services Contract we also hold a register of gifts at the practice in which all Partners and staff (and their spouses) are required to enter details of gifts which are estimated to be over the value of £100 and which are received from patients, relatives of patients, service providers or persons who wish to be service providers. Details of entries in the register are kept for a period of six years from the date of entry. Class 7 Information – The services we offer Upton Group Practice provides services under the General Medical Services contract within the NHS. The GPs in our practice are not employed by the NHS but work under contract as Independent Contractors for the NHS. We provide the following:- v A full range of General Medical Services v Child health surveillance v Minor surgery v Contraceptive services v Obstetrics services v Smoking cessation appointments v Coronary Heart Disease monitoring v Cryotherapy v Childhood vaccinations & immunisations
We also provide Enhanced Services in the following areas:- v Minor Surgery v Rheumatology monitoring v Diabetes monitoring – to include provision of care for housebound diabetics v Fitting of contraceptive coils and implants v MMR catchup campaign v Chronic Kidney Disease v HPV (Human Papillovirus) vaccination for 17 to 18 year olds v Heart failure v Learning Disabilities v Osteoporosis Professional Interests Our GPs have the following professional interests and commitments both in the practice and outside as detailed below:- v Dr Larkin has a special interest in cardiology and hyperbaric medicine. v Dr Partridge has a special interest in rheumatology and child health surveillance and he also runs a regular session in conjunction with the Wirral Drug Service. v Dr Kini is trained to fit IUCDs and also contraceptive implants. USEFUL RESOURCES Web sites: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk This is the website of the Information Commissioner
This is the website of the Lord Chancellor’s Department
This is the NHS Freedom of Information web site
www.wirralhealth.org.uk/privacy This is the website of Wirral PCT
Publications
NHS Openness Code www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexec/codemain.htm
FOI Act 2000 www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts2000/2000036.htm
Code of Practice under Section 45 FOI Act 2000
Code of Practice under Section 46 FOI Act 2000
Copyright All 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
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Number of Visitors to Site -Last modified: 30/01/2012 |