OPTIQUE OPTICIANS SOUTHERN LTD FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOI)
Welcome to our Guide for Information for Optique Opticians Southern Ltd as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Introduction
This is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by Optique Opticians Southern 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 much does it cost?
The publications are free unless otherwise indicated.
How is the information made available?
The information within each Class is available in hard copy from:
Optique Opticians Southern Ltd
20 Lower Northam Road
Hedge End
Southampton
Hampshire SO30 4FQ
or can be printed from this page .
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 opticians’ and optometrists’ practices to respond to requests about the NHS related information that it holds, and a right of access to that information has been established in law.
• 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 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:
Optique Opticians Southern Ltd
20 Lower Northam Road
Hedge End
Southampton
Hampshire SO30 4FQ
Classes of Information
All NHS information at Optique Opticians Southern 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 guide has been written in accordance with those exemptions. The information on this Scheme is grouped into the following categories:
1) Who we are
Optique Opticians is wholly owned by the Hampson family. Director, Roy Hampson FBDO (Hons) CL, opened the first Optique practice in Southampton in 1985 and now there are six in the Southampton area. Roy Hampson specialises in contact lenses and has been involved in all aspects from the manufacturing to the fitting of contact lenses to patients. He has delivered many clinical papers including to The Royal Society of Medicine.
Lynne Hampson, company secretary, has been in optics for many years including time as contact lens editor on The Optician magazine. Lynne is passionate about spectacle frames and carefully selects and purchases frames from many different manufacturers and distributors to make sure that Optique’s frame range is full and varied.
Optique Opticians has been caring for people's eyes since 1985. It is our aim to give an individual, personal service to all people of all ages and to provide eyewear that is good value with a complete aftercare service.
•The six practices are:
Optique Opticians
367 Bitterne Road
Bitterne
Southampton
Hampshire. SO18 5RR
Telephone: 023 8042 0513
Optique Opticians
48 Commercial Road
Southampton
Hampshire. SO15 1GD
Telephone : 023 8022 4631
Optique Opticians
20 Lower Northam Road
Hedge End
Southampton
Hampshire. SO30 4FQ
Telephone: 01489 782131
Optique Opticians
52 Pylewell Road
Hythe
Southampton
Hampshire. SO45 6AQ
Telephone: 023 8084 2230
Optique Opticians
40 Shirley High Street
Shirley
Southampton
Hampshire. SO15 3NG
Telephone: 023 8077 0804
Optique Opticians
89 Junction Road
Totton
Southampton
Hampshire. SO40 3BU
Telephone: 023 8087 0002
Details of the opticians and optometrists employed in our practices can be obtained by contacting that practice directly.
Alternatively, details of all opticians and optometrists registered in the UK are available from the General Optical Council please go to www.optical.org or telephone 0207 580 3898.
For details about the roles performed by opticians click here
Optique Opticians Southern Ltd: Company Registration number 5910199
2) Our services
All of 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 go to www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/Healthcosts/pages/Abouthealthcosts.aspx or ask for details in any of our practices.
Appointments for eye tests can be booked over the phone, or by visiting any of our practices. To find the address or phone number and opening times of your local Optique Opticians practice, please click here (if you are putting this onto a web site you can link to practice list)
You can also telephone any practice to confirm opening times as they may vary.
3) Financial and funding information
For every eye test performed on behalf of the NHS, Optique Opticians receives a set fee. This includes a contribution towards optometrists and staff salaries, equipment costs and other overheads.
If you are not eligible for the NHS eye test, please contact your local practice for details of our current private charges and promotional offers.
4) Regular publications and information for the public
Information about optical and ocular conditions, eye tests, glasses, and contact lenses, can be found on a number of websites including www.college-optometrists.org and www.rcophth.ac.uk/about/public/booklets
Some of this information is also available in patient leaflets. These are freely available from all our practices. You can ask for a set of leaflets by post by writing to:
Optique Opticians
20 Lower Northam Road
Hedge End
Southampton
Hampshire SO30 4FQ
or telephoning 01489 782131
Complaints
If you have a complaint about any of our products or services, we recommended that you in the first instance discuss it with the manager at the practice concerned.
If the matter is not resolved in this way to your complete satisfaction please contact us by writing to Roy Hampson FBDO (Hons), CL, director of Optique Opticians Southern Ltd, 20 Lower Northam Road, Hedge End, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 4FQ. A full copy of our complaints policy is available on request and can be found in Class 5.
5) Our policies and procedures
• Complaints - click here
• Data protection click here
• Health and safety click here
They are available on request from Optique Opticians Southern Ltd, 20 Lower Northam Road, Hedge End, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 4FQ
6) 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
• Multiple hard copies, or archived copies will attract a charge for photocopying, retrieval and postage. We will inform you, at the time of your request, the total cost of these charges which you must pay in advance.
• E-mail will be free of charge.
Part 3. Useful Resources
Websites:
• Information Commissioner
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
• Lord Chancellors Department
www.lcd.gov.uk
• NHS Freedom of Information
www.foi.nhs.uk
Publications:
• NHS Openness Code
www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexec/codemain.htm
• Freedom of Information Act 2000
www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000036.htm
January 2009
Copyright:
Material available through this publication scheme is 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 that 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 on FOI publication schemes see www.hmso.gov.uk/guides.htm.
|
