Freedom of Information Publication

The Maryhill Red Practice

Guide to information available through the Scottish Information Commissioner’s Model Publication Scheme 2014

Index

Section 1         Introduction

Section 2         About The Maryhill Red Practice

Section 3         Our functions and services

Section 4         How we take decisions and what we have decided

Section 5         What we spend and how we spend it

Section 6         Accessing information under the scheme

Section 7         Information that we may withhold

Section 8         Our charging policy

Section 9         Our copyright policy

Section 10        Our records management and disposal policy

Section 11        Feedback

Section 12        Complaints

Section 13        How to access information which is not available under this scheme

Section 14        Classes of information

Section 1: Introduction

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 requires Scottish public authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme.  Authorities are under a legal obligation to:

·         Publish the classes of information they make routinely available

·         Tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost

The Maryhill Red Practice has adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2014 produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner.  The scheme has the Commissioner’s approval until 31 May 2018.

You can see the model publication scheme on the Commissioner’s website at www.itspublicknowledge.info/mps or by contacting us at the address provided below.

The purpose of this Guide to Information is to:

·         allow you to see what information is available (and what is not available) in relation to each class

·         state what charges may be applied

·         explain how you can find the information easily.

·         provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with accessing the information

·         explain how to request information we hold that has not been published.

Section 2: About The Maryhill Red Practice

General information

The Maryhill Red Practice Maryhill Health & Care Centre 41 Gairbrai Avenue Glasgow G20 8FB

Tel No 0141 451 2830 Fax No 0141 945 3749 email GM.SGG-UHB.gp43311@nhs.net Website www.themaryhillredpractice.co.uk

The Practice has 3 Full-time partners & 2 Part-time partner, 1 Part-time Practice Nurse, 1 Practice Manager & administration staff

Mrs Karlyn McGowan Practice Manager

Sister Cherrill Luke Practice Nurse

STAFF

Miss Sharon Dunn (Computer Operator),

Ms Marguerite Carmichael (Health Care Assistant/Clerical Officer),

Miss Keri Brown, Mrs. Patricia Rankin, Mrs. Karen Innes, Mrs. Wendy Campbell (Reception Staff)

Ms Lauren Malarky(Reception Staff)

The practice opening hours are: The Surgery is open from 08.30am till 6.00pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) should an emergency or urgent medical problem arise out of surgery hours (6.00pm till 8.30am each week day, weekends, public holidays) Telephone NHS 24 direct on 111(www.show.scot.nhs.uk/nhs24)

Concerns or complaints about the services we provide can be made directly to the practice   

The Maryhill Red Practice Maryhill Health & Care Centre 51 Gairbraid Avenue Glasgow G20 8FB

Tel No 0141 451 2830 Fax No 0141 945 3749 Website www.themaryhillredpractice.co.uk email GM.SGG-UHB.gp43311@nhs.net or to the NHS Board Greater Glasgow Health Board & Clyde

Constitution

This GP practice is constituted under the National Health Services (Scotland) Act 1978 and is contracted by NHS Greater Glasgow Health Board & Clyde to provide primary medical services under GMS

How the practice is run

The Practice holds meetings regularly to discuss how the Practice runs & consults regularly with the team.  We also produce a Practice Staff Newsletter.

Partner Details

Dr Gordon Martin  MBChB MRCGP DRCOG       

Dr Susanne Russell  MBChB MRCGP DFM                                   

Dr Alasdair Webb  BSc MBChB MRCGP DGM DRCOG            

Dr Roland Leslie  BSc MBChB MRCGP

Dr Jessica Lynas MBChB MRCGP DFM DRCOG

The Practice holds regular meetings every Thursday morning which includes District Nurse & Health Visitor's once a month, & Practice Nurse meeting & Staff meeting once a month.

Under our contract of services with the NHS Greater Glasgow Health Board & Clyde we are obligated to meet the requirements of this contract and must provide information to support this to the NHS board.  The practice is audited by Practitioners Services Division under Payment Verification processes which assess that payments made to practices are correct.  PSD is responsible for providing assurance to NHS boards that the payments made on their behalf to GP practices are accurate and valid.  The work conducted under Payment Verification includes patient registration checks, documentary checks, trend analysis, and practice visits.

General practitioners have a duty of care to their patients and are registered with the General Medical Council and follow the standards and good medical practice guidelines laid down by the GMC, including the requirements set out in the GMC guidance Duties of a Doctor ( http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/good_medical_practice/duties_of_a_doctor.asp ).

Section 3: Our functions and services

NHS Boards contract with GP practices to provide primary care services to patients.  The Maryhill Red Practice holds a General Medical Services contract with Greater Glasgow Health Board & Clyde.  Under this contract we provide primary medical services to patients that reside within our practice area G20, G23 & surrounding areas.

GP contractors Dr G Martin, Dr S Russell, Dr A Webb , Dr R Leslie  & Dr J Lynas hold the contract for services with the NHS board and are responsible for fulfilling the obligations of the contract.  The General Medical Services (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2004/115/made Regulations outline our responsibilities under our contract. The payment arrangements under our contract are contained in the GMS: Statement of Financial Entitlements (the current year’s SFE can be found on the NHS Scotland website (http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/publications/publication.asp)

This practice participates in the Quality and Outcomes Framework.  Funding under the QOF is dependent on achievement against a variety of clinical and non-clinical indicators.

This practice aims to take account of NHS Quality and Improvement Scotland standards and guidance, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines relevant to general practice, and Scottish Government Health Directorates service strategies and frameworks.

Under our contract with Greater Glasgow Health Board & Clyde we provide a range of services to our patients, including:

• Palliative Care Enhanced Service

• Extended Hours Services,

• Baby clinic

• Health Promotion clinics

• Disease Management

• Heart Disease

• Diabetes
• Stroke
• Asthma
• COPD
• Epilepsy
• Hypertension
• Mental Health Problems

Other Services

• Drug Monitoring   - of patients with arthritis and bowel problems .
• Methadone Programme
• Cervical Smears - for routine repeat smears, please make an appointment with the practice nurse.  We advise a repeat smear every 3 years
• Ante-Natal Care - one clinic per week is held for pregnant women, in conjunction with community midwives.  Community midwives from the Queen Mothers Hospital can be contacted on 0141 201 0545.  Enquires at the reception desk.
• lmmunisations - two clinics are held per month .
• Child Surveillance - on a Thursday once a month
• Flu Clinics - in accordance with the Department of Health at risk guidelines, we recommend an annual influenza vaccination for patients of risk groups.  Current guidelines include those over 65 years or those with certain chronic diseases.  Please enquire that the reception.  The vaccine is normally available in October .
• Smoking Cessation - smoking cessation advice is available from any of the doctors or practice nurses by routine appointment.  Nicotine replacement therapy is available from the local pharmacist.
• Minor Surgery Clinics i.e. warts, steroid injections - the practice runs a wart clinic once a month. Please see the receptionist for an appointment.
• Family Planning – a wide range of service is available when necessary we can liaise with the local family planning service.  Dr Leslie carries out contraception Implants by appointment. In the event of any accident please contact the surgery as soon as possible as emergency contraception is effective for up to 72 hours.  We are more than happy to see women at short notice for this confidential service.  Speak to the doctor or practice nurse.
• Family planning clinic  -  Sandyford Initiative which can be contacted on 0141 211 8130

It is important to note that this range of services may be subject to change and may not always be available.

Information Sharing

The practice complies with Data Protection and Access to Medical records legislation.  Identifiable information about you will be shared under the following circumstance

• To provide medical treatment e.g. District Nurses, Health Visitors and Hospital Service.

• To help with other services e.g. Social Work.  This requires your consent.

• When we have a duty of care to others e.g. child protection cases.

• Anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan Services e.g. diabetic care.  If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way please let us know.

Reception and administration staff require access to medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

Rights and Responsibilities

In the rare event of a patient being violent, threatening or abusive to staff or other people in the practice, we may call the police, and we may ask that you be removed for our patient list.  There is a special GP practice in the city to which violent patients will be referred.

The Health Service

In order to manage the NHS some restricted information concerning treatments drugs prescribed, numbers of patients seen, etc. is needed and hospitals and general practices must provide this information in returns to various central bodies.

Managing the data

We need to be able to move electronic information from system to system, extracting the data and modifying it for the next system.

Occasionally, tests will need to be made on the data to check that it has been transferred correctly. This will only be done under carefully controlled conditions and all employees and contractors will be under strict contractual obligations to protect your confidentiality.

Other Agencies

The NHS is not the only government service to provide you with care and it will be necessary for us to provide other agencies with appropriate information, but only with your consent (or that of your relatives if you are too ill).

Out of Hours Patient Care

Information is linked electronically from you Surgery to the Out of Hours Emergency Service.  The only information that they can obtain from this is your current medication and if you have any allergies.

This service is to improve your medical care and to help the Doctors and Nurses in case you or a family member cannot remember or you are too ill to tell them.

If you do not wish this information passed on then please notify your GP.

Leaflets are available in the Surgery waiting room.

How we protect your information

The sensitivity of patient information is well understood within the NHS. All staff and contractors are trained to respect their duty of confidentiality to you, and have this written in their contracts.

We keep paper and electronic records securely to prevent unauthorized access or misuse. Wherever practicable, we remove references to personal details such as your name and address, and often restrict it further to reduce the chances of anyone identifying a record as relating to you.

Section 4:  How we take decisions and what we have decided

The practice partners generally meet every Friday, which is a practice meetings, all other meetings tend to be clinical meetings. These are practical to discuss decision making for various conditions. The practice tends to follow NHS guidelines on most things, however where these do not exist the practice creates working protocols. These are usually discussed with the front of house team where this involves action by reception.

1. Minutes/actions previous meeting

2. Staff issues 

3. Appointments /messages/prescriptions 

4. Training

5. Holidays

6. Significant events

7. Complaints/comments/compliments

8. Quality Outcomes Framework /Anticipatory Care Plans and Polypharmacy

9. Any other business    

Also the Health Visitors and the District nurses meet regularly with the practice clinical team to discuss cases.  This is held on the last Tuesday of every month as well as a Practice Nurse meeting on the 2^nd Tuesday of every month.

The practice is firmly of the belief that patient care is a process of consultation with the patient being the one who agrees the care proposed by the clinician. Patients (who have the capacity to make their own decisions) are firmly in the process of decision making regarding their own care.

Please see Section 14 – Classes of information for further details.

Section 5:  What we spend and how we spend it

The Maryhill Red Practice receives funding from NHS sources to provide NHS services to patients.  We do not charge patients for NHS services.  Details of our NHS funding can be requested from the practice, please see Section 14 – Classes of information for further details.

Section 6: Accessing information under this scheme

Information available under our guide to information will normally be available through the routes described below.  Section 14 – Classes of Information provides more details on the information available under the scheme, along with additional guidance on how the information falling with each “class” may be accessed.

Online        

www.themaryhillredpractice.co.uk

By phone

Information can also be requested from us over the telephone.  Please call 0141 451 2830 to request information available under this scheme.

By post

All information under the guide will normally be available in paper copy form, but please consider the impact on the environment.  Please address your request to:

The Maryhill Red Practice Maryhill Health & Care Centre 51 Gairbraid Avenue Glasgow G20 8FB

When writing to us to request information, please include your name and address, full details of the information or documents you would like to receive, and any fee payable (see Section 6: Our charging policy for further information on fees).  Please also include a telephone number so we can telephone you to clarify any details, if necessary.

Advice and assistance

If you have any difficulty identifying the information you want to access, then please contact the practice by one of the methods listed above.

Section 7:  Information that we may withhold

All information covered by our guide to information can either be accessed through our website or at the Practice this will be processed promptly and provided as soon as possible following our receipt of your request.

Our aim in maintaining this guide is to be as open as possible.  You should note, however, that there may be circumstances where information will be withheld from one of the classes of information listed in Section 14 – Classes of Information.  Information will only be withheld where permitted by The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).

Information may be withheld, for example, where its disclosure would breach the law of confidentiality or harm an organisation’s commercial interests.  Information may also be withheld if it is another person’s personal information, and its release would breach data protection legislation.

Information would not be disclosed in the following examples:

• Requests for information that is contained in patient medical records.  However, you do have the right to request your own medical records, see Section 13 - How to access information which is not available under this scheme.
• Requests for information relating to private income of practice partners or practice staff
• Requests for financial information that would likely prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person

Additionally, section 25 of FOISA provides an absolute exemption which allows our practice to refuse to deal with a request where the requested information is already reasonably obtainable elsewhere, even where a fee may be charged.  Information provided in the publication scheme is considered reasonably obtainable.

Whenever information is withheld we will inform you of this, and will set out why it was not appropriate for that information to be disclosed.  Even where information is withheld it may, in many cases, be possible to provide copies with the withheld information edited out.

If you wish to complain about any information which has been withheld from you, please refer to Section 10 – Complaints.

Section 8: Our charging policy

Unless otherwise stated in Section 14 – Classes of Information, all information contained within our guide is available from us free of charge from our website www.themaryhillredpractice.co.uk    where it can be sent to you electronically by email or at the Practice.

We reserve the right to impose charges for providing information in paper copy or on computer disc.  Charges will reflect the actual costs of reproduction and postage to the practice, as set out below.

In the event that a charge is to be levied, you will be advised of the charge and how it has been calculated.  Information will not be provided to you until payment has been received.

Reproduction costs:

Where charges are applied, photocopied information will be charged at a standard rate of 10p per A4 paper (black and white copy) and 30p per A4 paper (colour copy).

Computer discs will be charged at the rate of £1.00 per CD-Rom.

Postage cost:

We will pass on postage charges to the requester at the cost to the practice of sending the information by first class post.

Section 9: Our copyright policy

The Maryhill Red Practice holds the copyright for the vast majority of information in this guide to information.  All of this information can be copied or reproduced without our formal permission, provided it is copied or reproduced accurately, is not used in a misleading context, and provided that the source of the material is identified.

The guide may, however, contain information where the copyright holder is not The Maryhill Red Practice.  In most cases the copyright holder will be obvious from the documents.  In cases where the copyright is unclear, however, it is the responsibility of the person accessing the information to locate and seek the permission of the copyright holder before reproducing the material or in any other way breaching the rights of the copyright holder.  Wherever possible, this scheme will indicate where we do not own the copyright on documents within Section 14 – Classes of Information.

Information about Crown copyright material is available on the website of the Queens Printer for Scotland at www.oqps.gov.uk.  We can provide you with a copy of this information if you do not have internet access.

Section 10: Our records management and disposal policy

All information at the The Maryhill Red Practice is held, retained and destroyed in accordance with Scottish Government – Records Management: NHS Code of Practice (Scotland).  Confidentiality of patient information is maintained in accordance with the NHS (Scotland) Act 1978 Directions on the Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information: General Medical Services, Primary Medical Services Section 17C Agreements and Health Boards Primary Medical Services Contracts.  These documents are available on the NHS Scotland website (http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk).

Section 11: Feedback

The Maryhill Red Practice is required to review our guide to information from time to time.  As a result, we welcome feedback on how we can develop our guide further.  If you would like to comment on any aspect of this guide to information, then please contact us.  You may, for example wish to tell us about:

• other information that you would like to see included in the guide
• whether you found the guide easy to use
• whether you found the guide to information  useful
• whether our staff were helpful

• other ways in which our guide to information can be improved

Please send any comments or suggestions to The Maryhill Red Practice Maryhill Health & Centre 51 Gairbraid Avenue Glasgow G20 8FB  Tel No 0141 451 2830 Fax No 0141 945 3749

Or Website www.themaryhillredpractice.co.uk Or email GM.SGG-UHB.gp43311@nhs.net

Section 12: Complaints

Our aim is to make our guide to information as user-friendly as possible, and we hope that you can access all the information we publish with ease.   If you do wish to complain about any aspect of the guide, however, then please contact us, and we will try and resolve your complaint as quickly as possible.  You can contact:

Mrs Karlyn McGowan Practice Manager The Maryhill Red Practice Maryhill Health &Care Centre

51 Gairbraid Avenue Glasgow G20 8FB Tel No 0141 451 2830

Any complaint will be acknowledged within two working days of receipt and we will respond in full within twenty working days. 

You have legal rights to access information under this guide and a right of appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner if you are dissatisfied with our response.  These rights apply only to information requests made in writing* or another recordable format.  If you are unhappy with our responses to your request you can ask us to review it and if you are still unhappy, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner.

The Commissioner’s website has a guide to this three step process, and she operates an enquiry service on Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm.  The Commissioner’s office can be contacted as follows:

Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle

Doubledykes Road

St Andrews

Fife

KY16 9DS

Telephone        01334 464610

Email                enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info

Website            www.itspublicknowledge.info

*verbal requests for environmental information carry similar rights.

Section 13: How to access information which is not available under this scheme

If the information you are seeking is not available under this guide to information, then you may wish to request it from us.  The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) provides you with a right of access to the information we hold, subject to certain exemptions.  The Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs) separately provide a right of access to the environmental information we hold, while the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) provides a right of access to any personal information about you that we hold. Again, these rights are subject to certain exceptions or exemptions.

Should you wish to request a copy of any information that we hold that is not available under this scheme, please write to:

Mrs Karlyn McGowan Practice Manager

The Maryhill Red Practice Maryhill Health & Care Centre

51 Gairbraid Avenue Glasgow G20 8FB

Charges for information which is not available under the guide

The charges for information which is available under this guide are set out under Section 8 – Our Charging Policy.  Fees for information that is not available under this guide are outlined in The Freedom of Information (Fees for Required Disclosure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004.  If you submit a request to us for information which is not available under the Model Publication Scheme 2014 the charges will be based on the following calculations:

General information requests

• There will be no charge for information requests which cost us £100 or less to process.
• Where information costs between £100 and £600 to provide you may be asked to pay 10% of the cost. That is, if you were to ask for information that cost us £600 to provide, you would be asked to pay £50, calculated on the basis of a waiver for the first £100 and 10% of the remaining £500.
• We are not obliged to respond to requests which will cost us over £600 to process.
• In calculating any fee, staff time will be calculated at actual cost per staff member hourly salary rate to a maximum of £15 per person per hour.
• We do not charge for the time to determine whether we hold the information requested, nor for the time it takes to decide whether the information can be released. Charges may be made for locating, retrieving and providing information to you.
• In the event that we decide to impose a charge we will issue you with notification of the charge (a fees notice) and how it has been calculated. You will have three months from the date of issue of the fees notice in which to decide whether to pay the charge. The information will be provided to you on payment of the charge. If you decide not to proceed with the request there will be no charge to you.

Charges for environmental information

We do not charge for the time to determine whether we hold the information requested, nor for the time it takes to decide whether the information can be released.

In the event that we decide to impose a charge we will issue you with notification of the charge and how it has been calculated. The information will be provided to you on payment of the charge. If you decide not to proceed with the request there will be no charge to you.

Charges are calculated on the basis of the actual cost to the authority of providing the information.

• Photocopying is charged at 10p per A4 sheet for black and white copying, 30p per A4 sheet for colour copying.
• Postage is charged at actual rate for first class mail.
• Staff time is calculated at actual cost per staff member hourly salary rate to a maximum of £15 per person per hour.

The first £100worth of information will be provided to you without charge.

Where information costs between £100 and £600 to provide you will be asked to pay 10% of the cost. That is, if you were to ask for information that cost us £600 to provide, you would be asked to pay £50 calculated on the basis of a waiver for the first £100 and 10% of the remaining £500.

Where it would cost more than £600to provide the information to you, however, we will ask you to pay the full cost of providing the information, with no waiver for any portion of the cost.

Requests for your own personal data

While you cannot request personal data under the FOISA you are entitled to request your own personal data under the DPA.  Under the DPA you can request your personal information from The Maryhill Red Practice.  We reserve the right to charge a maximum of £50 for requests for an individual’s own personal information.

Section 14 – Classes of information

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act, 2002 requires a publication scheme to specify the classes of information the Public Authority already publishes or intends to publish.  Our intention is to publish as much information as possible through our guide to information, where there is known to be public interest.  However, exemptions under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act, 2002 may allow us to withhold some information, as indicated in Section 7: Information that we may withhold.

We publish information that we hold within the following classes:

Class 1: About The Maryhill Red Practice

Class 2: How we deliver our function and services

Class 3: How we take decisions and what we have decided

Class 4: What we spend and how we spend it

Class 5: How we manage our human, physical and information resources

Class 6: How we procure goods and services from external providers

Class 7: How we are performing

Class 8: Our commercial publications

Once information is published under a class we will continue to make it available for the current and previous two financial years.

Where information has been updated or superseded, only the current version will be available.  If you would like to see previous versions, you may make a request to us for that information.