Publication Scheme 

Welcome to the Dental Practitioners’ Publication Scheme as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This is a guide to the Dental Practitioners within the practice.

Introduction

This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to information routinely made available to the public by the Dental Practitioners. It describes of the information about our Dental Practitioners and Practice which we make publicly available. Some information is not made publicly available. It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.
The name of this practice is ST HELEN’S DENTAL PRACTICE

The names of the dental practitioners at this practice are:

How much does it cost?

The publications are mostly free of charge unless otherwise indicated. Where information is provided at a cost the charges will be calculated as set out in Class 7.

How is the information made available?

Information is made available in hard copy such as leaflets and advice sheets. For information regarding this publication scheme please contact reception who will also be pleased to receive your questions, comments and complaints. Alison Church or any receptionist will make best endeavours to supply all information requested in hard copy within 7 working days.

Your rights to information

• In addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about St Helen’s Dental 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 the Act will oblige the Dental 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 such 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 dental records or any other personal information held about you and you can contact Meredyth Bell at the practice 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 Alison Church at St Helen’s Dental Practice.

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Part 2 - Classes of Information

All information at the St Helen’s Dental 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

The dental practitioners at this practice:

The dental hygienists at this practice:

The Practice Manager is Alison Church

This information is all available in the Practice Information Leaflet which can be obtained free of charge from reception and from the practice website www.sthelens.dentalpractice.org.uk.

The dentists at this practice have contracts to provide NHS dental treatment with North Cumbria Primary Care Trust until March 2006. After that date only children – under 18 years – will be seen as NHS patients. Full details of the current NHS fees can be found on the Department of Health website www.doh.gov.uk by searching in the publications section for ‘Statement of Dental Remuneration’ and choosing the most recent amendment. For more in-depth information about Fees, remuneration, terms and conditions of employment of NHS dentists please visit www.doh.gov.uk/dental/index.htm.

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2. Our Services 

Our opening times are:

Mon - 9.00am to 6.00pm
Tue - 9.00am to 6.00pm
Wed - 9.00am to 5.30pm
Thu - 9.00am to 6.30pm
Fri - 9.00am to 5.30pm
Sat - 9.00am to 1.00pm (occasional Saturdays)

Our arrangements for out of hours emergency care are found on the practice answer phone and are for registered patients only.

Access to the premises for people with disabilities is through surgery one on the ground floor.

The languages we speak are English and French.
We are happy to provide sedation for anxious patients.
We do have dental hygienists.

The range of service we provide under contract to the NHS.
We offer NHS treatment to children only after March 2006.
We no longer are able to accept new patients under the NHS.
All adult patients will be seen either privately or as a Denplan patient from April 2006.

3. Financial and funding information

We can provide you with information until April 2006 about:

• The cost of NHS treatment
• Entitlement to exemption and remission from NHS dental charges
• Our private charges

The majority of our NHS income is from fees received for dental treatment provided. A smaller percentage of NHS income is received as monthly payments for the number of patients registered with the practice. This income is utilised to pay for the running of the dental practice, the staff salaries, the rent, the rates, the purchase of equipment its maintenance and servicing, dental materials, dental laboratory fees and all other business expenses. We also perform regular clinical audit, a thorough quality assurance programme (called clinical governance) and continuing professional development. Our gross turnover from NHS treatment is available on request from Meredyth Bell.

For information about the cost of NHS treatment you can see the latest fee list on www.doh.gov.uk/sdr/index.htm. If you do not have internet access the practice will be able to provide you with a free hard copy. For a free leaflet about entitlement to exemption and remission of NHS charges please contact the practice.
Our private fee list is available free from the practice or downloadable from the practice website.

4. Regular publications and information for the public

The following publications are available free from the practice:

• The Patient Information Leaflet which contains the most frequently requested information about our practice including:
  • The name and professional details of each dentist
  • The address of all the practice premises and where s/he provides general dental services
  • The days and hours when the dentists are usually in attendance at the practice premises. Whether a dental hygienist is employed at the practice premises
  • Whether there is access to the dental surgery without the use of stairs
  • Whether only orthodontic treatment is provided
  • Usually the details of any languages, other than English, spoken by the dentists
• Treatment Information Leaflets which give a more in depth advice about the following treatments and conditions: There may be a charge for those bought into the practice.
  • Gum Disease
  • Orthodontic Treatment
  • The Dental Hygienist
  • Crowns
  • Bridges
  • Root Canal Treatments
  • Dental Implants
  • X-Rays
  • Cosmetic Dentistry
  • Treatment for Anxious Patients
  • NHS information leaflets
  • Diet
  • Children’s dentistry
• Home care instructions:
  • Care of the mouth after surgery
  • Before your inhalation sedation
  • Instructions following inhalation sedation
  • Before your intravenous sedation
  • Instructions following your intravenous sedation
  • Your new dentures
  • Temper- mandibular joint exercises
  • Care of teeth with orthodontic appliances
  • Care of porcelain veneers

 Most leaflets are available singly from the practice free of charge.

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5. Complaints

We take every complaint very seriously and make every effort never to have an unhappy patient. To this end we operate a practice based complaint procedure. You can complain in person, by telephone and in writing to Alison Church. We will reply within three working days and following an investigation we will be able to respond fully within 10 working days.

Every compliant is logged and its progress is tracked. A copy of our complaint procedure is available from the practice. Please see point 6 below on how to obtain a free copy of the procedure.

6. Our policies and procedures

General policies and procedures are in use within the practice. These include, but are not restricted to, data protection, prescribing and prescription, health and safety. This practice is a member of the Confederation of Dental Employers (CODE). CODE helps us to maintain and improve our service to patients, to ensure health and safety and to remain compliant with the current regulations and legislation.

7. This Publication Scheme

Record of changes to the information which is made available in this scheme

Record of changes to information, which has already been made available

 Our information management criteria is based on:

• The requirement to make available certain information in accordance with The Freedom of Information Act 2000.
• The information needs of our staff, patients and public.
• The need for commercial confidentiality.
• Staff and patient confidentiality issues.

 All enquiries concerned with information management within the practice should be referred to:

Meredyth Bell
St Helen’s Dental Practice
Market Place
Cockermouth
Cumbria CA13 9NQ

Tel: 01900 826210

Cost of Information

For the most part, we will charge you only for hard copies. 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 Dental Practice 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 Alison Church or by personal application at the 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 for leaflets or booklets on, for example, services we offer to the public. Those that are bought at cost to the practice will attract a charge of 10p. Those produced in house are free.

c) “Glossy” or other bound paper copies, or in some cases a CD Rom, video or other mediums, are for a charge which will be advised when requested.

d) Email will be free of charge unless it says otherwise.

The charges will be reviewed regularly.

Meredyth Bell MBE BDS MFGDP RCS

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