Freedom of Information Act 2000
Welcome to the
Publication Scheme for David Kear Opticians.
The Publication
Scheme is 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 above Opticians working at David Kear Opticians. It
is a description of the information about our NHS services, which we
make publicly available.
It will be
reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.
How much does it
cost?
The publications
are all free unless otherwise indicated within each Class [with £].
Where information is provided at a cost, the charges will be calculated
as set out in Class 7.
How is the
information made available?
The information
within each Class is available either by printing from this web site or
in hard copy from. : -
your local
Practice. Click here for further information regarding your local
practice.
Your rights to
information
• In addition
to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you
are entitled to request information about our NHS services 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 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 your local
practice 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 email: -
vknight@davidkearopticians.co.uk
or write to:
David Kear
Opticians
9 Hill Street
Lydney
GL15 5HJ
CLASSES OF
INFORMATION
All NHS
information at the David Kear Opticians 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
We are a group of
opticians, technicians and other members of staff, who make up David
Kear Opticians. Working in three practices in Lydney, Cinderford and
Coleford.
Company
background http://www.davidkearopticians.co.uk/htm/about_us.htm
List of Practices
and Location http://www.davidkearopticians.co.uk/htm/contact_us.htm
Details on each
of the Opticians employed in each of our practices can be obtained by
contacting each practices directly.
Alternately,
details of all opticians and optometrist registered in the United
Kingdom are available from the General Optical Council http://www.optical.org.uk
Tel: - 0207 5803898
2.
Our Services
All our practices
provide free NHS eye test for those who are eligible. You may be
eligible for help towards the cost of any spectacles or contact lenses
you may require. For further information or to find out if you are
eligible for help please click here http://www.dh.gov.uk/NHS
Charges
Appointments for
eye tests can be booked over the phone, or by calling into any one of
our practices.
To find the
address, phone number and opening times of your local practices, please
click here http://www.davidkearopticians.co.uk/htm/practice_location.htm
3.
Financial and funding information
For every eye
test performed on behalf of the NHS the practice receives a set fee.
This covers
expenses such as optometrist and staff salaries, equipment costs and
other overheads.
If you are not eligible for the NHS eye test,
please contact your local practice for details of our current charges.
4.
Regular publications and information for the public
Information about
optical and ocular conditions, eye test, glasses, and contact lenses,
can be found on a number of websites including www.college-optometrist.org
5.
Complaints
If you have a
complaint or comment about any of our products or services, we recommend
that you first discuss the problem with a member of staff in the
practice that you visited. A leaflet explaining our complaints procedure
is available form the practice and a full copy of our complaint policy
is available from
The Practice
manager
David Kear
Opticians
9 Hill Street
Lydney
Glos
GL15 5HJ
Tel: - 01594
843233
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
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 Trust. We will also publish any proposed changes or
additions to publications already available.
The referral
point for all enquiries regarding information set out in this
publication is: -
The Practice
Manager
David Kear
Opticians
9 Hill Street
Lydney
Glos
GL15 5HJ
Tel: - 01594
843233
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
may be a charge.
The charges will
vary according to how information is made available.
Charges are as
follows:
[a) Via the
Opticians/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
The Practice
Manager
David Kear
Opticians
9 Hill Street
Lydney
Glos
GL15 5HJ
Tel: - 01594
843233
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.
A list is
available from
The Practice
Manager
David Kear
Opticians
9 Hill Street
Lydney
Glos
GL15 5HJ
Tel: - 01594
843233
c) “Glossy”
or other bound paper copies, or in some cases a CD Rom, video or other
mediums, are for charge.
d) E-mail-will be
free of charge unless it says otherwise
The charges will
be reviewed regularly.
Useful Resources
Web sites:
www.informationcommisioner.gov.uk
This is the
Information Commissioner’s web site
www.lcd.gov.uk
This is the Lord
Chancellor’s Department web site
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/nhsexec/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
Copyright
Material
available through this Publication Scheme is subject to the David Kear
Optician’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
