Blaina Medical Practice- Publication Scheme
This is a guide to the Publication Scheme for Blaina Medical Practice in which each of the following, practice as a partnership: -
Dr H Davey, Dr T Evans
Introduction
This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by this Practice. It is a description of the information about each of the General Practitioners and the Practice itself 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.
How is the information made available?
The information within each Class is available in hard copy on request from reception.
Rights of Access to Information
At the present time, in addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about Glan Rhyd Surgery under the Code of Practice on Openness in the NHS issued by the Welsh Office in 1995. Hard copies of the Code of Practice are available free of charge from the NHS Wales Department of the Welsh Assembly Government. The information is also available on the Department of Health website www.doh.gov.uk. Sometimes some, or all, of the information cannot be provided and we will explain the reasons why when this happens.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 recognises that everyone has the right to know how public services, such as NHS Wales, are organised and run, how much they cost and how you can make complaints if you need to. You have the right to know which services are being provided, the targets that are being set, the standards of service that are expected, the results achieved and how decisions are made.
From January 1st 2005 the Freedom of Information Act will require all General Practices to respond to requests about information they hold, and it will create a right of access to that information. The rights to request and access this information are subject to some exemptions, which a General Practice has to take into consideration before deciding what information can be released.
The Environmental Information Regulations, which came into force in 1993, set the standard for the release of information about the environment in which we live and work. These are likely to be strengthened within the next eighteen months under a European Union Directive. Until the new Regulations come into force, information relating to the Environment can be requested using the existing Regulations and the Code of Practice on Openness.
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 to do this. Details of the cost will be made available upon request.
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 B McDermott
Practice Manager
Blaina Medical Practice
High Street
Blaina
Gwent
NP13 3AT
CLASSES OF INFORMATION
All information at Blaina Medical Practice is held, retained and destroyed in accordance with NHS Wales guidelines. Our commitment to publish information excludes any information, which can be legitimately withheld under the exemptions set out in the Welsh Code of Practice on Openness in the NHS or The Freedom of Information Act 2000. Where individual Classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons relate to the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This applies to all Classes within the Publication Scheme.
The NHS is a very large part of the public sector. General Practice provides the first point of contact for patients with health issues, and works closely with both secondary care regarding ongoing treatment, and the Local Health Board on matters of funding, services and staffing structure within the Practice. A full list of local General Practices in Wales can be found on Aneurin Bevan Local Health Board web site.
The information on this Scheme is grouped into the following broad categories:
- – Blaina Medical Practice who are we?
Our organisation consists of:-
PARTNERS
Partner Dr H Davey – Full Time (female)
Partner Dr T Evans – Full Time (male)
SALARIED GP
Dr C Davis - Full Time (female)
Dr B Morton - Part Time (female)
PRACTICE MANAGER
Mrs Beth Mcdermott
Assistant Manager
Mrs Claire Edmunds
PRACTICE NURSES
Sue Hool
Michelle Thomas
HEALTH CARE ASSISTANT
Tracy Cullinane
Phlebotomist
Monique Brickell
MIDWIFE
ABUHB employed
DISTRICT NURSES
ABUHB employed
Our Practice area covers from Blaina to Brynmawr, Abertillery and some parts of Ebbw Vale. A map of Practice boundaries available on request.
Our services are provided in accordance with the National General Medical Services contract. As a Practice we aim to provide the best possible care and services for our patients in line with guidelines issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and the National Service Framework for Wales.
The range of services we provide under the New GMS contract are:-
Child Health surveillance – patients under 5 years of age, to provide development medicals and meet their immunisation requirements
Cervical cytology – smear appointments available with the Practice nurse.
Child Health surveillance – patients under 5 years of age, to provide development medicals and meet their immunisation requirements
Contraceptive services – By appointment
Counselling service provided – By appointment
Diabetic/Asthma/CHD clinic – By appointment
Maternity Services – ante-natal care provided by the midwife attached to the Practice, post-natal care by GP
Minor surgery – minor procedures undertaken at surgery including excisions of lesions, joint injections - by arrangement with Doctor.
Ultrasound scanning – referral by GP required
District nursing service – attached to the practice to provide support for housebound and terminally ill patients in their own home.
Out-of-hours cover is provided for emergencies by Aneurin Bevan Health Board between 6.30 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Language interpreter – we are registered with the language line interpretation service if required.
Interpreters will be provided for the profoundly deaf by prior arrangement
Our appointments for Doctor can be booked 10days in advance. If you have an urgent problem, please contact the surgery when your information will be taken by the receptionists and passed to Doctor to be triaged to ascertain the urgency of the problem.
Further details of the Practice can be found on our web site
www.blainamedicalpractice.co.uk
Income for the Practice is generated from non-NHS work performed by the GPs.
This includes insurance medicals and claim forms, HGV/PCV/Taxi renewals, and completion of insurance forms for patients. All NHS work will take priority, and requests for private paperwork will be completed as soon as is possible.
Prices for private work are available upon request
- Financial and funding information
Blaina Medical Practice receives monies from Aneurin Bevan Health Board, according to its contract, in exchange for services to patients. The money is used to fund practice premises, practice staff and all relevant and appropriate associated costs. Further information is available on request to the Practice Manager.
- Regular publications and information for the public
Our practice leaflet is available at reception.
A copy of our Patients Charter is available at reception, as is a minor ailments publication.
All of the above can be seen at our website at www.blainamedicalpractice.co.uk
If you feel that you are not happy with the service provided at the surgery, a copy of the in-house complaints procedure is available from reception. When completed this will be forwarded to the Practice Manager who will acknowledge receipt of the complaint and investigate accordingly. If the complaint cannot be handled within the Practice, you can ask the Local Health Board to investigate instead. You can contact the concerns team on 01495 745656, email them at puttingthingsright.ABHB@wales.nhs.uk, or write to:
Judith Pagett
Chief Executive
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
St Cadocs Hospital
Lodge Road
Caerleon
Newport
NP18 3XQ
- Our policies and procedures
This Practice has an up-to-date Health & Safety Policy. If you notice anything untoward during your visit to the Practice please inform the reception staff immediately.
All staff at the practice maintain the highest level of confidentiality, and are governed by the Data Protection Act. This governs both patient and staff confidentiality. All patient identifiable data is shredded prior to disposal to ensure confidentiality is maintained.
The Practice also has policies on Equality and Diversity, Records Management, Requests for Information, and various internal instructions to staff and policies relating to the delivery of services. Further information can be requested of the Practice Manager.
We aim to keep this publication up to date, and if any changes occur, they will be corrected in this part of the publication.
We will also publish any proposed changes regarding our policies or any decisions we are about to make regarding procedures within the practice.
For the most part information in this publication is available free, but for others there may be a charge. The charges will vary according to how information is made available and the way it will be recorded i.e. CD-ROM. Charges are as follows:
- a) Via the General Practice/Local Health Board /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 by personal application to Blaina Medical Practice.
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 on, for example, services we offer to the public.
- c) E-mail will be free of charge unless it says otherwise.
The charges will be reviewed regularly and be in line with other NHS organisations.
· Useful Resources
Web sites:
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
This is the web site of the Information Commissioner.
www.lcd.gov.uk
This is the web site of the Lord Chancellor’s Department.
www.wales.nhs.uk/foi
This is the web site for NHS Wales Freedom of Information.
www.nhs.foi.uk This is the web site for NHS Freedom of Information.
· Publications
Welsh Code of Practice on Openness in the NHS www.wales.nhs.uk
FOI Act 2000 - www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts2000/2000036.htm
Code of Practice under Section 45 FOI Act 2000 www.lcd.gov.uk
Code of Practice under Section 46 FOI Act 2000 www.lcd.gov.uk
Copyright
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 or contact: HMSO Licensing Division, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ. Tel: 01603 621000.