FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
This is a guide to the information published by each of the NHS dentists at Streatfield Dental Practice. This guide is the dentists’ 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 the dentists at Streatfield Dental Practice. It is not a complete list of publications since this will change as other things are produced, but it is a description of the classes of information that we provide. A full list of publications is available by contacting the practice manager who is responsible for our Scheme.
This guide will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.
How much do they cost?
All publications are free unless otherwise stated.
How are they published?
They are also available in hard copy from the practice manager.
Your right to information
As well as our published information, present and former patients of the practice have the right to access the personal information that we hold about them in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Details of how to do this is contained in the Practice Data Protection Policy which is available on the website and displayed in the practice.
Feedback
We have produced this guide in order to comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The purpose of the Act is to encourage organizations working for the public to be more open about the information they have. We welcome your views on additional classes of information which might be included and on the publications themselves. If you have any comments or suggestions about the scheme, please send them in writing to the practice manager at Streatfield Dental Practice 206 Streatfield Road E-mail : [email protected]
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Classes of information
We hold various types of information which we review, retain or dispose of according to NHS rules. Our information is classed into seven categories:
Who we are
What we spend and how we spend it
What our priorities are and how we are doing
How We Make Decisions
Our policies and procedures
Registers
The Services We Offer
Class 1: Who we are
An up to date list of team members (dentists, therapists, managers & nurses) can be found on the website.
Information about our services is contained in the practice’s patient information leaflet which is available at Reception and within this website. The information includes:
Opening times
Arrangements for emergency care
Details of access to the premises for people with disabilities
Whether we have a dental hygienist or orthodontic treatment is available
Information about the care and treatment provided by the practice
We are currently not accepting new NHS patients.
Class 2: What We Spend and How We Spend It
We have information about:
The cost of NHS treatment
Entitlement to exemption and remission from NHS dental charges
Our private charges
Our income from NHS work derives from individual courses of treatment and is dependent on our meeting our contracted Units of Dental Activity (UDA) that has been agreed with the NHS Area Team. In the event of underperformance we have to repay funds to NHS England, but in the event of overperformance there is no additional funding currently available from NHS England. In this case if our UDA quota has been used up for the current financial year, then you may need to have your care deferred to the following financial year. We make every effort to avoid this happening by spreading our UDA quota evenly throughout the year.
Information on NHS funding and contract targets is available from the Practice Manager
Class 3 – What our priorities are and how we are doing
Details of plans for the development and provision of NHS services are available in our patient information leaflet, which can be obtained from reception
Practice inspections and audit results and conclusions are available on request to the practice manager.
Class 4: How We Make Decisions
As a small business formal records of management decisions are not normally recorded, however, any charges in the provision of NHS services would be incorporated into an updated patient information leaflet, our current patient information leaflet , which can be obtained from reception. We may also notify patients by notices in our reception area
Class 5: Practice policies
(Copies of these policies are available from the practice manager.)
We have policies and procedures which ensure that the practice operates in a safe and efficient manner. These include:
Policies & Procedures About Customer Services
Employment of Staff
Equality and Diversity
Health & Safety
Infection Control
Radiation
Complaints
Records Management
Confidentiality & Data Protection
Policies & Procedures For Handling Requests of Information
Practice Information Leaflet
Class 6:Public lists or Registers
This information is not held
Class 7: The Services We Offer
The details for our services are available in our patient information leaflet, which can be obtained from reception.
The services provided under contract to the NHS
Charges for any of these services
Information leaflets
Out of hours arrangements
This guide will be reviewed regularly and we will also keep the list of publications up to date.
From January 2005 we will be required by the Freedom of Information Act to respond to requests from the public to access recorded information that we hold. There are some exemptions to this right and it does not change the rights of our patients to have all of their personal information kept strictly confidential and available to them on request.
Further information
Further information on the Freedom of Information Act is available from the following websites: