East Street Dental Practice.

This guide is the "East Street Dental Practice." Publication Scheme as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by the dentists at the East Street Dental Practice.  It is not a complete list of publications since this will change as other things are produced, but it is a description of the classes of information that we provide.  A full list of publications is available by contacting Mr. Jones who is responsible for our Scheme. This guide will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.

How much do they cost?

All publications are free unless otherwise stated.

How are they published?

Information is downloadable from the practice website at www.blandford-dental.co.uk  they are also available in hard copy from the reception.

Your right to information

As well as our published information, present and former patients of the practice have the right to access the personal information that we hold about them in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Details of how to do this are contained in the Practice Data Protection Policy, which is available from reception.

Feedback

We have produced this guide in order to comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  The purpose of the Act is to encourage organizations working for the public to be more open about the information they have.  We welcome your views on additional classes of information which might be included and on the publications themselves. If you have any comments or suggestions about the scheme, please send them in writing to   Mr. Jones at the Practice (27 East Street, Blandford, Dorset, DT11 7DU)

Classes of information

We hold various types of information, which we review, retain or dispose of according to NHS rules. Our information is classed into seven categories:

1.      Who we are
2.      Our services
3.      Financial information
4.      Information for patients and the public
5.      Complaints
6.      Our policies and procedures
7.      This guide.

Class 1: Who we are

Details of all the dentists, dental therapists and dental hygienists are contained in the practice information leaflet. Details include name, sex and date of first registration with the General Dental Council, specialist status and whether they are full or part time.

Class 2: Our services

Information about our services is contained in the practice’s patient information leaflet, which is available at Reception.  The information includes:

Opening times
Arrangements for emergency care
Details of access to the premises for people with disabilities
The languages we speak and the availability of interpreters Whether we have a dental hygienist or orthodontic treatment is available
Information about the care and treatment provided by the practice

Class 3: Financial information

We have information about:
The cost of NHS treatment
Entitlement to exemption and remission from NHS dental charges
Our private charges

Our income from the NHS derives primarily from monthly fees for achieving a targeted workload.

Class 4: Information for patients and the public

Copies of leaflets are available from Reception.
We make available information leaflets about:

Types of dental treatment
Healthy diet
Healthy teeth
Reducing anxiety about dental care
NHS information leaflets.

Class 5: Complaints

We have a practice complaints procedure, a copy of which is available from our reception.

Class 6: Practice policies

We have policies and procedures, which ensure that the practice operates in a safe and efficient manner.  These include:

Data protection
Data security
Confidentiality
Health and Safety
Radiation protection
Infection control
Payments policy
Equal opportunities.

Copies of the policies are available from Reception.

Class 7: This guide

This guide will be reviewed regularly and we will also keep the list of publications up to date. We are required by the Freedom of Information Act to respond to requests from the public to access recorded information that we hold. There are some exemptions to this right and it does not change the rights of our patients to have all of their personal information kept strictly confidential and available to them on request.