Rawtenstall: 01706 215200   101 Bank Street, Rawtenstall, BB4 7QN | Haslingden: 01706 228927   41 Deardengate, Haslingden, BB4 5QN
  • A  A  A  
Rawtenstall: 01706 215200
101 Bank Street, Rawtenstall, BB4 7QN
Haslingden: 01706 228927
41 Deardengate, Haslingden, BB4 5QN
Close
Rawtenstall: 01706 215200   101 Bank Street, Rawtenstall, BB4 7QN | Haslingden: 01706 228927   41 Deardengate, Haslingden, BB4 5QN

Freedom of Information Act (FOI)

This document complies with the requirements of the Information Commissioner’s Model Publication Scheme for David Gould Opticians Ltd in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and fulfils the obligations on opticians’ practices under the Act.

Introduction

This is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by David Gould Opticians Ltd. It is a description of the information about our NHS services that we make publicly available. It will be reviewed at regular intervals.

How is the information made available?

The information within each Class is available in hard copy from:

David Gould Opticians Ltd
41 Deardengate
Haslingden
Rossendale
BB4 5QN

Or

David Gould Opticians Ltd
101 Bank Street
Rawtenstall
Rossendale
BB4 7QN

Or

www.davidgouldopticians.co.uk

This guide information

We will publish any changes we make to this guide or relevant information. We will also publish any proposed changes or additions to publications already available.

Cost of Information

For the most part, we will only charge for hard copies, or copies onto media. Charges are as follows and will be reviewed regularly.

  • Accessed from our website – free of charge
  • Single hard copies – free of charge
  • As the Freedom of Information Act applies to the provision of information, a request for multiple hard copies does not fall within the provisions of the Act and will attract a charge for retrieval, photocopying and postage. We will inform you of the cost of these charges that will have to be paid in advance.
  • E-mail will be free of charge.

Your Rights to Information

  • The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is designed to promote openness and accountability amongst all organisations that receive public money.
  • Like all NHS contractors, since 1 January 2005 there has been a FOI obligation on optical practices to respond to requests about the NHS related information that they hold, and a right of access to that information has been established in law.
  • These rights are subject to exemptions (see below) that have to be taken into consideration before releasing information.
  • In addition to accessing the information identified in this guide, you are entitled to request information about our NHS services under the NHS Openness Code 1995.
  • Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you are also entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you and you can contact any practice where your records are held 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:

David Gould Opticians Ltd
41 Deardengate
Haslingden
Rossendale
BB4 5QN

Classes of Information

All NHS information at David Gould Opticians Ltd is held, retained and destroyed within NHS guidelines. Our commitment to publish information excludes any information that can be legitimately withheld under the exemptions set out in the NHS Openness Code or Freedom of Information Act 2000, the main reasons being the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This scheme has been written in accordance with those exemptions. The information on this Scheme is grouped into the following categories:

1) Who we are and what we do

David Gould Opticians Ltd is an independent optician with two practices.

Our practices are located at the following addresses

Deardengate, Haslingden, Rossendale, Lancs, BB4 5QN

Bank Street, Rawtenstall, Rossendale Lancs, BB4 7QN

Details of the opticians employed in our practices can be obtained by contacting the practices directly.

Alternatively, details of all opticians and optometrists registered in the UK are available from the General Optical Council, 0207 580 3898.

Company Registration number: 04862513

2) Financial and funding information: what we spend and how we spend it

For every sight test performed on behalf of the NHS the practice receives a set fee, which is fixed nationally. This practice also carries out the following enhanced services on behalf of the NHS:

  • Pre cataract assessment
  • Post cataract assessment
  • IOP efinement
  • MECS (Minor Eye Condition Service

The fees paid by the NHS for each service are available from the practice on request. They include a contribution towards optometrists’ and staff salaries, equipment costs and other practice overheads. Information in this class will be published only where it is unlikely adversely to affect the commercial position of the firm or practice.

3) Our Priorities

To provide our patients with high quality eye care

4) Decision Making

Any decisions made about the provision of NHS-funded services will be reflected in the services we provide and in the contract(s) held with the East Lancashire Primary Care Trust.

5) Our policies and procedures

  • Complaints
  • Data protection
  • Health and safety

They are available on request from the addresses listed above.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about any of our products or services, please do discuss any problems with the staff at the practice concerned in the first instance. We find that most issues can be put right at this stage.

If the matter cannot be resolved in this way or you are unsatisfied with the response you receive please contact David Gould at either or our practices. A full copy of our complaints policy is available on request.

6) Lists and Registers

We don’t keep lists and registers. Our patient records are confidential.

7) The Services We Offer

All (Company name/our practice(s)) provide NHS-funded sight tests for those who are eligible. Patients may also be entitled to NHS vouchers that can be used against the purchase of spectacles or contact lenses as required. To find out if you are eligible for this assistance ask for details in either of our practices.

The practice also provides the following NHS-funded enhanced services:

  • Pre cataract assessment
  • Post cataract assessment
  • IOP efinement
  • MECS (Minor Eye Condition Service)

Appointments for sight tests can be booked over the phone, or by dropping into one of our practices. To find the address or phone number of your local practice, please click here www.davidgouldopticians.co.uk

Regular publications and information for the public

Information about optical and ocular conditions, sight tests, spectacles, and contact lenses, can be found on:

Some of this information is also available in patient leaflets. These are freely available from both our practices. To request a set of leaflets by post, please write to:

David Gould Opticians Ltd
41 Deardengate
Haslingden
Rossendale
BB4 5QN

Useful Resources

Websites:

Publications:

Handling Patient Data

Information – we keep records of our information about you as a mixture of paper and/or computer records. Everyone in the practice is aware of the confidential nature of these records and will only use or release this information in accordance with the law. You will need to provide us with your consent if you wish us to pass your information to another optometrist. If you are an NHS patient, the NHS may ask to see the portion of your record that relates to NHS services provided. Such information will only be given to the NHS in strictest confidence. You are entitled to a copy of your records, although there may be an administrative charge. If you wish to see your records, please ask [NAME OF PERSON] and we will respond as quickly as possible and in any case are required to do so within 40 days. If you require independent advice, contact the Information Commissioners Office at www.ico.gov.uk.

We hold various pieces of information about you including your name and address, and clinical details such as the state of health of your eyes, your spectacle and/or contact lens prescription, and copies of any letters we have written about you or received from other professionals, such as your doctor. You are entitled to a copy of this information although there may be an administrative charge for providing it. If you wish to see your records, please ask a reception and we will respond as quickly as possible and in any case are required to do so within 40 days. If you require independent advice, contact the Information Commissioners Office at www.ico.gov.uk. We adhere to the guidelines of the College of Optometrists and the Data Protection Act and will not pass any of your personal information to a third party without your consent unless there is a clear public interest duty to do so. You will need to provide us with your consent if you wish us to pass your information to another optometrist. If you are an NHS patient, we are obliged to provide the portion of your record that relates to NHS services to authorised persons within the NHS (who are in turn subject to a duty of confidentiality) if they request this. This is usually to confirm that we have provided the NHS services that we have been paid for, and to improve quality of care. It is also possible that the NHS may contact you to ask if you have received services (such as a sight test or spectacles) as part of this monitoring. Within the practice we may use the information to analyse trends, or to audit our performance. This enables us to monitor and improve the quality of care that we offer you. Wherever possible (i.e. if we do not need to know who an individual patient is) we will only analyse trends from anonymised information. If you have any queries about this please contact us and we will be happy to help.