home
facilities
before and after photographs
tooth whitening
Velscope oral cancer screening
private fees
patient information leaflet
Freedom of Information Publication Scheme
contact us/map

Find out more information about the freedom of information publication scheme by downloading the PDF here.

If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader software you can download it by clicking on the link below.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION PUBLICATION SCHEME

PART 1 – Publication Scheme
Welcome to the Dental Practitioners’ Publication Scheme as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This is a guide to the Dental Practitioners who practice together within this practice.

Introduction
This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by the Dental Practitioners. It outlines the information about our Dental Practitioners and Practice which we make publicly available. Some information is not made publicly available. It will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.

The name of this practice is:- THE DENTAL HEALTHCARE CENTRE

The name of the dental practitioners at this practice are :-
Mike Heads
Gill Douglas
Louise Wynd

How much does it cost?
The publications are free unless otherwise indicated within each Class (with £). Where information is provided at a cost the charges will be calculated as set out in Class 7.

How is this information made available?
Information is made available in hard copy as leaflets and in some cases downloadable from the practice website which is www.dentalhealthcarecentre.co.uk, each class has further details. For information regarding this publications scheme please contact the Practice Manager who will also be pleased to receive your questions, comments and complaints. The Practice Manager will endeavour to supply all information requested in hard copy within 7 working days.

Your rights to information.
• The Freedom of Information Act 2000 recognises that members of the public have a right to know how public services are organised and run, how much they cost and how decisions are made.
• From January 1st 2005 the Act will oblige the Dental Practice to respond to requests about information that it holds, and is recorded in any format and it will create a right of access to such information. These rights are subject to some exemptions which have to be taken into consideration before deciding what information it can release.
• 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 dental records or any other personal information held about you and you can contact the Practice Manager at The Dental Healthcare Centre, Wellburn Road Fairfield Stockton-on-Tees TS19 7PP 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 Practice Manager at The Dental Healthcare Centre, Wellburn Road, Fairfield Stockton-on-Tees TS19 7PP.

Part 2 – Classes of Information
All information at the Dental Healthcare Centre is held, retained and destroyed in accordance with guidelines. Our commitments to publish information excludes any information which can be legitimately withheld under the exemptions set out in the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Where individual Classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons are e.g. the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This applies to all Classes within the Publication scheme. The information on this Scheme is grouped into the following categories:

1 – Who we are
The dental practitioners at this practice

Full Name Sex Full/Part Time Date of first registration Specialist Status
Michael Heads
Male Full December 1982 None
Gill Douglas
Female Full December 1989 None
Louise Wynd Female Full July 1998 None

The dental hygienist at this practice is

Full Name Sex Full/Part Time Date of first registration
Karen Hails Female Part time September 1994

The practice manager is Linda Heads

This information in section 1 is available in the Practice Information Leaflet which can be obtained free of charge from reception and the practice website.

2. Our Services
Our opening times are:

Monday 0830 - 1700
Tuesday 0830 - 2000
Wednesday 0830 - 2000
Thursday 0830 - 2000
Friday 0830 - 1700
Saturday 0900 – 1200 (open one Saturday in four on a random basis)
Sunday – Closed

Although the practice is open during the above times dentists work at different times and not all are present during all the above opening times.

Our arrangements for out of hours emergency care are that we provide our own Emergency Dental Rota. Patients registered at this practice and with a genuine emergency should ring the practice on 01642 570138 to access details for the emergency service.

Being purpose built the practice is fully compliant with all regulations for access by disabled and wheelchair bound patients.

The dentist in the practice do not speak any other language apart from English
Interpreters are available by special arrangement.
We are able to provide sedation for some of our patients.
We have a dental hygienists.
We do not provide orthodontic treatment.
We provided dental implant and cosmetic dental treatment

This information is all available in the Practice Information Leaflet which can be obtained free of charge from reception and our website.

3. Financial and funding information.
We can provide you with information about:

• Denplan band charges
• Our private item of service charges

The income to the practice is utilised to pay for the running of the dental practice, the staff salaries, the rent, the rates, purchase of equipment its maintenance and servicing, dental materials, laboratory fees and all other business expenses. We also perform regular clinical audit, a thorough quality assurance programme (called clinical governance) and continuing professional development.

Our Denplan band charges and private fee list is available free from the practice or downloadable from our website www.dentalhealthcarecentre.co.uk

4. Regular publications and information for the public.
The following publications are available free from the practice and downloadable from the practice website www.dentalhealthcarecentre.co.uk

[A] - The Practice Information Leaflet which contains the most frequently requested information about our practice including:
• The name and professional details of each dentists
• The address of the practice
• The days and hours when the practice is open for taking of appointments and when dentists will be in attendance at the premises
• Whether a dental hygienist is employed at the practice
• Whether there is access to the practice premises without the use of stairs
• Whether the practice premises (including dental surgeries and toilets) are accessible by wheelchairs
• Whether orthodontic treatment is provided
• The details of any languages, other than English, spoken by the dentists.

[B] - Treatment Information Leaflets which give a more in depth advice about the following treatments and conditions:
• Gum Disease
• The Dental Hygienist
• Crowns
• Bridges
• Root Canal Treatment
• Dental implants
• X-Rays
• Cosmetic Dentistry
• Treatment for Anxious Patients

[C] - Home care instructions:
Care of mouth after surgery
Before intravenous sedation
Instructions following intravenous sedation
Your new dentures
About dentures fitted immediately after tooth extraction
Taking antibiotics

All leaflets are available singly from the practice free of charge.


5. Complaints
We take every complaint very seriously and make every effort never to have an unhappy patient. To this end we operate a practice based complaint procedure. You can complain in person, by telephone or in writing to the Practice Manager. We will reply within three working days and following an investigation we will aim to respond fully within 10 working days.

Every complaint is logged and its progress is tracked. A copy of our complaint procedure is available from the practice. Please see point 6 below on how to obtain a free copy of the procedure.

6. Our policies and procedures
General policies and procedures are in use within the practice. These include, but are not restricted to, data protection, prescribing and prescription, health and safety.

This practice is a member of the Confederation of Dental Employers (CODE). CODE helps us to maintain and improve our service to patient, to ensure health and safety and to remain compliant with the current regulations and legislation. Copies of the following documentation, which we have adapted for use at the practice, are available free from the practice.

• Key Practice Policies which include Data Protection and Prescribing
• Equal Opportunities Policy
• Health and Safety Management (including, Manual handling, Radiology, Riddor, Disposal of clinical waste, Infection Control and Personal Protection Policy etc.)
• Patient Complaint Procedure

7. This Publication Scheme
Record of changes to the information which is made available in this scheme

Information added Information removed Reason Date Signature

 

 

 

       

Record of changes to information, which has already been made available.

Information change Reason Date Signature

 

 

 

     

Our information management criteria is based on:
• The requirement to make available certain information in accordance with The Freedom of Information Act 2000
• The information needs of our staff, patients and public
• The need for commercial confidentiality
• Staff and patient confidentiality issues

All enquiries concerned with information management within the practice should be referred to:

The Practice Manager
The Dental Healthcare Centre
Wellburn Road
Fairfield
Stockton-on-Tees
TS19 7PP
Telephone 01642 570138

The cost of any information requested:-
For the most part we will charge you only for hard copies or copying onto media e.g. CD ROM and for printing, stamped address envelopes and administrative costs etc. The charges will vary according to how the information is made available. Charges are as follows:

[a] Via our website- free of charge, although any charges for Internet Service provider and personal printing costs would be met by the individual.

• For those without internet access, a single print-out as on our website would be made available by post from the practice or by personal application at the practice. An administrative charge of £10 is made for this service.
• Requests for multiple printouts, or for archived copies of documents which are no longer accessible or available on the web, may attract an additional charge for retrieval, photocopying, postage etc. We will let you know the additional costs and charges that will have to be paid in advance. We will not provide printouts of other organisations websites.

[b] Leaflets and brochures – Those listed in point 4 are provided free of charge

[c] “Glossy” or other bound paper copies, or in some cases a CD ROM, video or other mediums will require a quote to be worked out for the patient and this to be paid in full prior to work starting on preparing such material.

[d] Email will be free of charge unless an administrative charge is required to access or collect the information required.

Useful Resources

Web sites:
This is the Information Commissioner’s web site
This is The Lord Chancellor’s web site
This is the NHS Freedom of Information web site

Publications
- FOI Act 200 www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/actys2000/20000036.htm
- Code of Practice under Section 45 FOI act 2000 www.lcd.gov.uk
- Code of practice under Section 46 FOI Act 2000 www.lcd.gov.uk

Copyright
Material available through this Publication scheme is subject to the Dental Healthcare Centre copyright unless otherwise indicated. Unless expressly indicated to the contrary, it may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium provided it is done so accurately in a manner which will not mislead. Where items are re-published or copied to others, you must identify the source and acknowledge copyright status. This permit does not extend to third party material, accessed through the scheme. For HMSO Guidance Notes see www.gov.uk/guides/htm