Easington and Peterlee Medical Group Freedom of Information Publication Scheme
This information is due to be updated shortly
Welcome to the Easington and Peterlee Medical Group General Practitioner’s Publication Scheme. This is a guide to the General Practitioners’ 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 the Easington and Peterlee Medical Group (Drs Barlow, Frost, Thomas, Anderson, Hawes, Young and Russell). 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 does it cost?
The publications are all free unless otherwise indicated within each Class. 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 downloadable from the practice website or available in hard copy from Mrs Shirley Lonsdale, Practice Manager, EPMG, William Brown Centre, Manor Way, Peterlee, County Durham SR8 5TW.
Your rights to information
- In addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about Easington and Peterlee Medical Group 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 1st 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 1998, you are also entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you and you can contact Mrs Shirley Lonsdale, Practice Manager, EPMG, William Brown Centre, Manor Way, Peterlee, Co. Durham SR8 5TW 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 write to:
Mrs Shirley Lonsdalel, Practice Manager,
EPMG,
William Brown Centre,
Manor Way,
Peterlee,
Co. Durham,
SR8 5TW
CLASSES OF INFORMATION
All information at the Easington and Peterlee Medical Group 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 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
Details of the practice, organisation structures, key personnel and how we fit into the NHS
Easington and Peterlee Medical Group is part of the County Durham Primary Care Trust, which in turn is part of the North East Strategic Health Authority. The practice endeavours to follow the guidance in the National Service Frameworks and Guidelines from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence.
The NHS is a very large part of the public sector. A full list of local General Practices can be found on the County Durham Primary Care Trust website The Easington and Peterlee Medical Group provides general medical services for the geographical area of Easington Colliery, Easington Village, Peterlee, Horden, parts of Blackhall, Wingate, Details are available from our Web Site: www.epmg.co.uk
A full list of services is in Class 2 “Our Services”.
The doctors in the practice are:
Dr G. Frost, f/t
Dr A.H. Thomas, f/t
Dr D.G. Anderson, f/t
Dr. Barbara M. Hawes, p/t
Dr. M. Young, f/t
Dr. I. S. Russell, f/t
Dr G. Dougal, f/t
Dr D. Melui f/t
Dr. M. Lamplugh
Registrars, doctors in training, join us for periods of 6 months at a time
The Practice Nurses are;
Sr. Kelly Gillesphy
Sr. Debbie Bailey
Sr. Stacey Ruddell
The phlebotomists are:
Ms Yvonne Allison
The Practice Management includes:
Mrs Shirley Lonsdale, Practice Manager,
Mrs Theresa Davies, Reception Supervisor,
This Practice adheres to the national General Medical Services contract.
Some information will be withheld, including personal, confidential information about individuals, which is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998.
2. Our Services
The range of services we provide under contract to the NHS
- In addition to providing General Medical Services, the practice offers child health surveillance, contraceptive services, maternity medical services, minor surgery services, and baby clinic. There are practice nurse led clinics for asthma and respiratory disease, coronary heart disease and diabetes; In addition the District Nurse is available at both surgeries. At Peterlee there is a counsellor. The Practice Nurses also run health promotions clinics e.g. well man and well woman clinics, immunisations including travel (apart from yellow fever), cervical cytology.
- Some services may involve information sharing (e.g. child protection conferences) with other agencies. Our policy on data protection and the protocols that we have agreed with other agencies about information sharing arrangements follow the guidelines drawn up the Health Authority. (Details are available from the Practice Manager)
- The practice works from 2 surgeries;
- William Brown Centre, Manor Way, Peterlee, Co. Durham SR8 5TW. 0191 569 1060
- Opening hours Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm Closed Bank Holidays
- Arbroath House, Seaside Lane South, Easington Colliery, Peterlee, Co. Durham, SR8 3PE 0191 527 0328
- Opening hours Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm. Closed Bank Holidays.
- Out of hours - cover from 6pm to 8am weekdays and from 6.00pm Friday until 8.00am Monday, County Durham Primary Care Trust, who subcontracts part of the work to Prime Care, provides this. Telephone calls to the surgery during these times will elicit the contact numbers. The doctors have the following areas of special interest:
3. Financial and funding information
Funding details and charging policies
The Easington and Peterlee Medical Group Practice receives money from County Durham Primary Care Trust according to its contract (as per Class 1 above) in exchange for services provided for patients.
- The total income received from the NHS before expenses in 2003/2004 was £733063.00p
- The sum spent on drugs prescribed by the Easington and Peterlee Medical Group Practice in 2003/2004 was £2293811.00p
- It is practice policy to charge for non-NHS related services according to the recommended BMA scale. Details are available from reception.
- Our list of our charges is based on BMA advice.
- There may be circumstances where material cannot be released because it is confidential or commercial information or the appropriate officer designated for these purposes under the Act has taken the view that it may be prejudicial to the conduct of the Practice’s affairs.
4. Regular publications and information for the public
Guidance and information leaflets
As well as an up to date practice brochure (available from reception), we also maintain an informative Web site that enables us to communicate up to date and relevant information to our patients.
www.epmg.co.uk
5. Complaints
Policies, procedures and contacts for complaints
The practice complaints procedure follows recommended guidelines. A copy of which is available from Mrs. Shirley Lonsdale, Practice Manager, EPMG, William Brown Centre, Manor Way, Peterlee, Co. Durham SR8 5TW
6. Our policies and procedures
General policies and procedures in use within the practice
We have a comprehensive list of policies and procedures. These include, but are not restricted to, data protection, prescribing and prescription, health and safety and staff welfare.
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 Practice. We will also publish any proposed changes or additions to publications already available.
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 General Practice/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 Mrs. Shirley Lonsdale, Practice Manager, EPMG, William Brown Centre, Manor Way, Peterlee, Co. Durham SR8 5TW or by personal application at the Easington And Peterlee Medical Group Practice. The applicant must provide a suitable stamped addressed envelope.
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. The available list varies from week to week. Contact: Mrs. Theresa Davies, Office Manager, EPMG, William Brown Centre, Manor Way, Peterlee, Co. Durham SR8 5TW
c) “Glossy” or other bound paper copies, or in some cases a CD Rom, video or other mediums, are for charge as in our publication lists available from Mrs. Shirley Lonsdale, Practice Manager, or Mrs. Theresa Davies, Office Manager, EPMG, William Brown Centre, Manor Way, Peterlee, Co. Durham SR8 5TW
d) E-mail-will be free of charge unless it says otherwise
The charges will be reviewed regularly.
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.foi.nhs.uk
This is the NHS Freedom of Information web site
www.epmg.co.uk
Easington and Peterlee Medical Group Practice Website
www.countydurhampct.nhs.uk
County Durham Primary Care Trust web site
Publications
- Statement of Fees and Allowances payable for General Medical Practitioners in England
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 that 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
Last Modified 4th June 2010 with further modifications pending
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