Welcome to the Publication Scheme for OPTICAL SERVICES LTD t/a EYE 2 EYE OPTICIANS registered office: Thames House Roman Square Sittingbourne Kent ME10 4BJ as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Introduction

This Publication scheme is a complete guide to
the information routinely made available to the public by

EYE 2 EYE OPTICIANS
8 Mid Kent Centre
Castle Road Maidstone
Kent ME16 0PU.

It is a description of the information about our services that we make publicly available. It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.

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

How the information is made available?

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

EYE 2 EYE OPTICIANS
8 Mid Kent Centre
Castle Road
Maidstone
Kent
ME16 0PU

Or can be printed from OUR WEBSITE at
www.opticianskent.com

Your Rights to Information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is designed to promote openness and accountability amongst organisations that receive public money.

From January 1 2005 it will oblige opticians and optometrists practices to respond to requests about the NHS related information that it holds, and it will create a right of access to that information. These rights are subject to some exemptions that have to be taken into consideration before releasing information.

In addition to accessing the information identified in the publication scheme, you
are entitled to request information about our NHS services under the NHS Openness Code 1995. 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 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:

EYE 2 EYE OPTICIANS
8 Mid Kent Centre
Castle Road
Maidstone
Kent
ME16 0PU

Classes of Information

All NHS information at EYE 2 EYE OPTICIANS is held, retained and destroyed within NHS Guidelines. Our commitment to publish information exclude any information that can be Legitimatel withheld under the exemptions set out in the NHS Openness Code or Freedom of Information 2000. From 2005, individual Classes are subject to exemptions,the main Reasons being the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This Scheme had been written in accordance with those exemptions.

The Information on this Scheme is grouped into the following categories:

Who we are

EYE 2 EYE OPTICIANS Allington Tel: 01622 672563
EYE 2 EYE OPTICIANS Gravesend 01474 323447
EYE 2 EYE OPTICIANS Larkfield 01732 873378
EYE 2 EYE OPTICIANS Northfleet 01622 661500
EYE 2 EYE OPTICIANS Leegreen 0208 463 0478

Details of all the Opticians and Optometrists employed in practice can be obtained by contacting The Practice directly AT THE ABOVE ADDRESS

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

Our services

Eye 2 Eye Opticians provide free NHS eye tests for those who are eligible. You may also be entitled to vouchers that can be used against the purchase of glasses or contact lenses if you require them. To find out if you are eligible for assistanc please click here or go to www.opticianskent.com or you may ask for details at each practice.

Appointments for eye tests can be booked over the phone at the individual Practice, or by dropping into the practice in person.

Financial and fundinginformation

For every eye test performed on behalf of the NHS the opticians working at this practice receives a set fee of £16.72. This covers expenses such as optometrist and staff salaries, equipment costs and other store overheads. If you are not eligible for the NHS eye test, please contact our practice for details of our current charges. Full details of the company accounts can be found by contacting Companies House in the normal manner. Our Company is registered as Home Optical Services Ltd and the registered Company number is 1795397.

Regular publications and information for the public

A complete set of information about optical and ocular conditions, eye tests, glasses, and contact lenses can be found on our websites www.opticianskent.com Some of this information is also available in patient leaflets. These are freely available from all our practice

Complaints

If you have a complaint about any of our products or services, we recommended that you first discuss any problems with the manager at the practice, If the matter cannot be resolved in this way or you are unsatisfied with the response you receive please contact Mr J Edmonds 01622 672563

A full copy of our complaints policy is available on request or on our website and be found in Class 6.

Our policies and procedures

Complaints.
Complaints regarding our products or services can be handled within the practice in the normal manner, if you feel that your complaint has not been dealt with to your satisfaction then you may request to see the Practice Manager. If you are still not satisfied, then you may request to see the Practice owner MR J Edmonds who can be contacted either at the Practice or by telephone on 01622 672563

Data protection Under the data protection acts of 1998 Patients are entitled to access their own personal clinical records, or any other personal information that may be held in writing, or retained within the Practice computer records.

Health and safety
The Practice follows the Health and Safety Regulations as applicable

This publication scheme

In this class we will publish any changes we make to this publication scheme, the criteria on which our information management policies are made and a referral point for all enquires
regarding information management generally in practice. We will also publish any proposed changes or additions to publications already available.

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

Accessed from our website - free of charge.
Single hard copies of this document – at the cost of postage.
Multiple hard copies and archived copies will attract a charge for photocopying, retrieval 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

Useful Resources

Websites:

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Lord Chancellors Department
www.lcd.gov.uk

NHS Freedom of Information
www.foi.nhs.uk      # XXXXX