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Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act deals with access to official information and gives individuals or organisations the right to request information from any public authority.

The NHS Freedom of Information Publication Guide  sets out the type of information that is publicly available from Frome Medical Practice and how you may go about obtaining such information.

Information available from Frome Medical Practice under the Freedom of Information Act model publication scheme

Information covered by this scheme is only about the primary, general or personal medical services we provide under contract to the National Health Service.

Information to be published How the information can be obtained Cost
Class1 - Who we are and what we do
(Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts) This will be current information only		 Frome Medical Practice has an up to date Web Site containing comprehensive information that allows people to see who the practice is and the public services it offers. Free
Doctors in the practice This information can be obtained from the practice web site Free
Contact details for the practice (named contacts where possible with telephone number and email address (if used)) This information is available generically on the practice website. For contact details of specific GPs an approach will need to be made to the relevant secretary.  
Opening hours This information can be obtained from the practice web site Free
Other staffing details This information can be obtained from the practice web site Free
Class 2 - What we spend and how we spend it
(Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit). Current and previous financial year as a minimum		    
Total cost to the PCT/LHB/HSSB of our contracted services.

This information would be provided subject to a specific request being made. Clearly the more specific the request the more relevant the response can be made.

Any request would need to be made in writing to the Practice Senior Partner.

All reports will be produced in electronic form (MS Office compatible) only.

Charges may apply, please see footnote.

£25 per hour preparation fee.
Audit of NHS income

Frome Medical Practice has an annual audit of its accounts via an independent accountancy firm. Extracts relating to NHS income can be made available subject to a specific request being made.

Any request would need to be made in writing to the Practice Senior Partner.

All reports will be produced in electronic form (MS Office compatible) only.

Charges may apply, please see footnote.

£25 per hour preparation fee.
Class 3 - What our priorities are and how we are doing
(Strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews) Current and previous year as a minimum

The partners of Frome Medical Practice hold regular business meetings to discuss and monitor strategy and priorities. Minutes of these meetings are held. Summarised or redacted copies of these minutes could be made available subject to specific request being made.

Any request would need to be made in writing to the Practice Senior Partner.

All reports will be produced in electronic form (MS Office compatible) only.

Charges may apply, please see footnote.

£25 per hour preparation fee.
Plans for the development and provision of NHS services As above.  
Class 4 - How we make decisions
(Decision making processes and records of decisions) Current and previous year as a minimum

The partners of Frome Medical Practice hold regular business meetings to discuss and monitor strategy and priorities. Additionally they hold clinical governance meetings and meetings with regard to significant events. Minutes of these meetings are held. Summarised or redacted copies of these minutes could be made available subject to specific request being made.

Any request would need to be made in writing to the Practice Senior Partner.

All reports will be produced in electronic form (MS Office compatible) only.

Charges may apply, please see footnote.

£25 per hour preparation fee.
Records of decisions made in the practice affecting the provision of NHS services

The partners of Frome Medical Practice hold regular business meetings to discuss and monitor strategy and priorities. Additionally they hold clinical governance meetings and meetings with regard to significant events. Minutes of these meetings are held. Summarised or redacted copies of these minutes could be made available subject to specific request being made.

Any request would need to be made in writing to the Practice Senior Partner.

All reports will be produced in electronic form (MS Office compatible) only.

Charges may apply, please see footnote.

£25 per hour preparation fee.
Class 5 - Our policies and procedures
(Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities)
Current information only (mark "not held" against any policies not actually held)

The Frome Medical Practice holds a comprehensive set of practice procedures and protocols. These have been developed to reflect NHS policy and provide workable delivery solutions to staff. The records are held electronically and are subject to a programme of periodic review. They are available to all staff.

This information would be provided subject to a specific request being made. There is considerable intellectual property contained within these documents and their release will only be made in the context of not jeopardizing that value. This may result in selected, summarized or redacted information being made available.

Any request would need to be made in writing to the Practice Senior Partner.

All reports will be produced in electronic form (MS Office compatible) only.

Charges may apply, please see footnote.

£25 per hour preparation fee.
The sort of information we hold:
  • Policies and procedures about the employment of staff
  • Internal instructions to staff and policies relating to the delivery of services
  • Equality and diversity policy
  • Health and safety policy
  • Complaints procedures (including those covering requests for information and operating the publication scheme)
  • Records management policies (records retention, destruction and archive)
  • Data protection policies
  • Patients' charter
  • Policies and procedures for handling requests for information
    
Class 6 - Lists and Registers
Currently maintained lists and registers only		    
Any publicly available register or list (if any are held this should be publicised; in most circumstances existing access provisions will suffice)

The Frome Medical Practice holds details of all Health professionals within its employment or subject to contract. Any release of this information would need to be compliant with confidentiality legislation.

Any request would need to be made in writing to the Practice Senior Partner.

All reports will be produced in electronic form (MS Office compatible) only.

Charges may apply, please see footnote.

£25 per hour preparation fee.
Class 7 - The services we offer
(Information about the services we offer, including leaflets, guidance and newsletters produced for the public)
Current information only		    
The services provided under contract to the NHS The Frome Medical Practice has an up to date Web Site containing comprehensive information that allows people to see what services are provided under contract to the NHS. Free
Charges for any of these services

Details of charges are held within the practice and are available upon request.

If the request is about the nature of the charge then this should be made in writing to the Practice Senior Partner

All responses will be produced in electronic form (MS Office compatible) only.

Charges may apply, please see footnote.

£25 per hour preparation fee.
Information leaflets See website and practice booklet Free
Out of hours arrangements See website Free

Footnote

Practices will not be able to charge fees for access to information unless it costs more than £450 to retrieve and collate the information. Practices will, however, be able to charge any reasonable costs for copying, printing, postage and other disbursements. If the practice calculates that it will cost more than £450 to determine whether the information is held and to locate, retrieve and extract the information, then the authority can charge up to £25 per hour per staff member. If the costs are less than this £450 limit, then the authority can charge for the photocopying and postage of the information, but not the retrieval.

The GPC recommends that postage and photocopying should be charged at cost. If the cost of providing the information is estimated to cost over £450 then the authority is not obliged to provide the information, it can refuse to comply or charge the appropriate fee. 

It is the duty of the practice to inform the applicant of the costs before providing the information, and the information can be withheld until the fee is received. If the fee has not been received within three months of notification then the request is seen to have lapsed.

BMA - Freedom of Information Act FAQs

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