Freedom of information

Publication scheme

This publication scheme provides a guide to the services and practitioners who practice together at Lawson Road Surgery as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2003.

It is based on the model publication scheme for general practices produced by the NHS Freedom of Information (FOI) project board and the British Medical Association.

Introduction

This publication scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by Drs M. Burrell, G. Rash, A. Shiner and M. Hunt. It is a description of the information about Lawson Road surgery and the general practitioners that work there that is available to the public. It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.

Your rights to information

• The Freedom of Information Act 2003 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.
• The FOI Act 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.
• Under the GDPR, you are also entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you. You can contact the practice manager at Lawson Road Surgery to do this.
• Environmental information regulations were introduced in 2005. These enable similar access to environmental information as under the Freedom of Information Act 2003.

How much does it cost?

Publications are all free unless otherwise indicated. Where there is a charge for providing information the cost will be calculated as set out in each class.

How do we make information available?

Information is available in hard copy from the practice manager as indicated for each class of information.

For more information, please use our contact the practice form.

Feedback

If you have any comments about the operation of this publication scheme, or how we have dealt with your request for information from the scheme, please submit our online feedback form or write to:

The practice manager
The Health Centre
Lawson Road
Norwich
NR3 4LE

Classes of information

All information at the Lawson Road Surgery 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 Freedom of Information Act 2003.

Where individual Classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons are the protection of commercial interests and the protection of confidential personal information under the Data Protection Act 2018. This applies to all Classes within the publication scheme.

The information included in this scheme is grouped into 7 broad categories.

Class 1 information – Details of the practice, organisational structure, key personnel and how we fit into the NHS.

Who we are:

The Health Centre
Lawson Road
Norwich
NR3 4LE

This NHS practice is part of the Norwich Primary Care Network and provides services for patients living within Norwich and surrounding area. It supplies services in accordance with a general medical services contract held with Norwich PCN.

A full list of the services provided will be found at class 2 below.

Key personnel:

• Dr Rash – partner
• Dr Hunt – partner
• Dr Shiner – partner
• Dr McKerrell – partner
• Dr Harper – partner
• Mr Hipperson – partner
• Our Practice manager is Julia Hallam
• Our practice nurses are nurse Ros Reader, nurse Ruth Elsworth
• Our Nursing associate is Amanda Thompson
• Our healthcare assistants are Kate Murray, Ellie O’Keefe, Meg Foster

This practice aims to follow national and local best practice guideline, including the NICE best practice guidelines and the National Service Frameworks. Some information will be withheld including personal, confidential information about individuals that is protected by GDPR.

Class 2 Information – The range of services we provide under contract to the NHS

Our Services:

• A full range of general medical services
• Child health surveillance
• Minor surgery
• Contraceptive services
• Obstetrics services
• Well woman and well man clinics
• General clinics, asthma clinic, diabetic, health promotion clinics and lifestyle clinics
• Postnatal clinic
• Childhood vaccination clinic
• Adult and travel immunisation clinic
• Members of staff conduct consultations in English. If translation services are required, please contact us in advance.

The practice is open during the following hours, for more information please visit our opening hours page.

• Weekdays, 8am to 6pm – closed for lunch 12:30pm to 1pm
• Out of hours cover is provided by GP out of hours between the hours of 6:30pm to 8am on weekdays, all day Saturday and Sundays and bank holidays.
• The telephone number for the out of hours service is 111.

Class 3 information – Funding details and charging policies

Financial and funding information:

Lawson Road Surgery receives money from Norfolk and Waveney ICB according to its contract with Norfolk and Waveney ICB in exchange for services provided for patients.

Class 4 information – Guidance and information leaflets

The following published information is available:

• Keep warm, keep well
• Lifestyle management sheets
• NHS Direct handbooks

All of these publications are free of charge.

Class 5 Information – Policies, procedures and contacts for complaints

Complaints:

This practice follows the NHS complaints procedure and follows a strict protocol when dealing with all complaints.

A copy of the practice complaints procedure is available from:

The practice manager
The Health Centre
Lawson Road
Norwich
NR3 4LE

Class 6 Information – General policies and procedures in use within the practice

Our policies and procedures:

• Data protection
• Prescribing and prescription policy
• Zero tolerance policy – Please visit our zero tolerance page for more information.
• Health and safety
• Patient group directives – Please visit our Patient Participation Group page for more information and how to register.

Class 7 information

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.

Some information is available free, but there may be a nominal charge to cover costs if you require a hard copy of information.

These charges will vary according to how information is made available.

Charges are as follows:

• Website – Free of charge (charges for internet service provider and personal
  printing costs would have to be met by the individual)
• If you do not have internet access, a single print-out from the website would be available by post from the practice manager or by personal application at the practice. The practice charges 20p per sheet plus the cost of postage if required.
• Requests for multiple printouts, or for archived copies of documents that are no longer accessible or available on the web, will attract a small 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 are not able to provide printouts of other organisation’s websites.
• Leaflets and brochures – Free of charge for most leaflets or booklets on, for example, services we offer to the public.
• Some “glossy” or bound paper copies, CD Rom, video or other copies will attract a charge.
• Email information – free of charge unless specified otherwise.

These charges will be reviewed regularly.