Freedom of Information Act

Publication Scheme

Welcome to the Publication Scheme for ChiltonWatson Ltd as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Introduction

This publication is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by ChiltonWatson Ltd. It is a description of the information about our NHS services that we make publicly available. It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.

How much will it cost?

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 is the information made available?

The information within each class is available from our website at: www.chiltonwatson.co.uk or from each of our practices listed below.

Your Rights to Information

· The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is designed to promote openness and accountability amongst all organisations that receive public money.
· From January 1st 2005 it will oblige opticians' and optometrists' practices to respond to requests about the NHS related information that it holds, and will create a right to 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 entitled to access to 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:

The Information Officer
ChiltonWatson Ltd
Admin
3 Station Road
Gerrards Cross
Bucks
SL9 3ES FOI-CW-10/2003-1

Classes of Information

All NHS information at ChiltonWatson 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. 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:

1. Who We are

· ChiltonWatson Ltd is a Private Limited Company registered in England under registration number 4090349, the registered office is:

ChiltonWatson Ltd
3 Station Road
Gerrards Cross
Bucks
SL9 3ES

· The Directors of the Company are:
Mr Ian Harrold
Mr David Reeves

· Our Practice addresses are as listed below:

73 Sycamore Road, Amersham, HP6 5EQ Tel: 01494 721795
3 Station Road, Gerrards Cross, SL9 3ES Tel: 01753 886306
23 Bell Street, Henley on Thames RG9 2BA Tel: 01491 574363
51 High Street, Princes Risborough HP27 0AE Tel: 01844 345674

· Details of all the Opticians and Optometrists employed in one of our practices can be obtained by contacting that store directly, as above.
· Alternatively, details of all Opticians and Optometrists registered in the UK are available from the General Optical Council at www.optical.org or Tel: 020 7580 3898.

2. Our Services

All our practices 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 assistance please click here www.doh.gov.uk or alternatively ask for details in any of our practices. If you are not eligible for the NHS eye test, please contact your local practice for details of our current charges.
Appointments for eye tests can be booked over the telephone, or by calling in to one of our practices listed above.
Our opening hours are as follows Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.30pm
Saturday 9.00am to 5.00pm
Sunday Closed
There are some local variations to our hours so please telephone to confirm, before making a journey.
FOI-CW-10/2003-2

3. Financial and funding information

For every eye test performed on behalf of the NHS a set fee of £16.72 is paid, this covers expenses such as the testers' salaries, equipment costs and other store overheads.

4. 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 at www.chiltonwatson.co.uk or at a number of other websites including www.college-optometrists.org.

Some of this information is also available in patient leaflets; these are freely available from all our practices, listed as above. To request copies of these leaflets please contact your local practice.

5. Complaints

If you have a complaint about any of our products or services, we recommend that you first discuss this with the manager of the practice concerned. If the matter cannot be resolved in this way or you are unsatisfied with the response you receive, the matter should be referred to the Area Manager. A full copy of our complaints procedure is available on request from any of our practices and can be found in class 6 below.

6. Our policies and procedures

Complaints Procedure

It is the aim of ChiltonWatson Ltd to provide all our patients and customers with a first class standard of service.
In the unusual event that a patient/customer has a grievance or complaint concerning a product or service offered, the matter should be brought to the attention of the Manager of the practice concerned at the earliest opportunity. Every endeavour will be made to resolve the problem, if however the matter is not resolved to the patients' satisfaction, then the Area Manager should be informed. It may not be possible to contact the Area Manager immediately, but every effort will be made to secure a suitable conclusion within a reasonable period of time. Contact details for the Area Manager will be provided to the patient/customer by the practice concerned.

The Board of Directors may be contacted by letter at the following address:

The Managing Director
ChiltonWatson Ltd
3 Station Road
Gerrards Cross
SL9 8ES

If no satisfactory result is achieved, then contact could be made with the following bodies:

Optical Consumer Complaints Service at www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk Tel: 020 7261 1017
Association of British Dispensing Opticians at www.abdo.org.uk Tel: 020 7487 0770
General Optical Council at www.optical.org Tel: 020 7580 3898