Dr FOI
Freedom of Information Act 2000 for General Practices, Pharmacies, Dental Practices & Ophthalmic Opticians
New Publication Schemes to be adopted by 1st January 2009
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 all public authorities are required to have and operate a publication scheme approved by the Information Commissioner. Below is some more information about this, about the new publication scheme that you have to have in place and links to the new scheme and where you can obtain further help and training.
What is a publication scheme?
A publication scheme is a list of all the information that is routinely made available to the public, without individuals having to request it of you. It is divided into subsections of information or
“classes”.
Old publication scheme
In 2003, each public authority in the NHS had to put in place the first publication scheme accredited for 4 years. These have now been in place for 5 years as the accreditation was extended by the Information Commissioner for a year. Some practices have uploaded these onto the NHS Freedom of Information website, which is now inactive.
New publication scheme
The Information Commissioner has recently updated the model publication scheme and more information is available at the links below which provide outlines of the scheme for doctors, dentists, ophthalmic opticians and pharmacists. The new schemes cannot be uploaded onto the NHS Freedom of Information website any longer and your publication scheme will need to be available at your practice as a hard copy or on your own website.
Does my new publication scheme need to be accredited?
You do not need to submit your scheme for accreditation. Once complete, you can either provide it as a hard copy (the minimum legal requirement) or you can place the information contained in it on your website.
Will the publication scheme be checked by the Information Commissioner?
The Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, will be selecting at random publication schemes to check. He will also be responding to and investigating any complaints from the public about accessing information from publication schemes.
General Practitioners
Doctors providing medical services under most contracts with the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are public authorities in respect of information relating to those services.
Click here for further information
Dentists
Many dentists, similar to doctors above, will require a publication scheme.
Click here for further information
Pharmacists
All pharmacists under contract to the NHS will also require a publication scheme.
Click here for further information
Opticians
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 all public authorities are required to have and operate a publication scheme approved by the Information Commissioner. Those providing general ophthalmic services under contract to the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are public authorities in respect of information relating to those services
Click here for further information
Training
We are providing a series of Freedom of Information training sessions for primary care [
click here for further information, including dates, location, and a course programme]
Help
Please contact Louise Wilder at: louise@dilysjones.co.uk or 01344 636388