Legal notices
Freedom of Information Act 2000
General Guide
Welcome to our Guide for Information for Vision Express (UK) Limited ("Vision Express") 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 Vision Express. 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:
The Customer Services ManagerVision Express (UK) Limited
Abbeyfield Road
Lenton
Nottingham
NG7 2SP
Or it can be printed from www.visionexpress.com
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:
The Customer Services ManagerVision Express (UK) Limited
Abbeyfield Road
Lenton
Nottingham
NG7 2SP
Classes of Information
All NHS information at Vision Express 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
Vision Express (UK) Limited is the operating company for over 325 optical retail stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. We are part of a French optical retail chain GrandVision SA which is a French publicly quoted company A list of stores including contact phone numbers can be found on our website www.visionexpress.com/opticians. Details of the opticians and optometrists employed in our stores can be obtained by contacting that store directly. Alternatively, details of all opticians and optometrists registered in the UK are available from the General Optical Council Tel.: 0207 580 3898. Company Registration number 2189907
2) Our services
All Vision Express stores 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. Appointments for eye tests can be booked over the phone, by dropping into the stores, or on our website www.visionexpress.com Opening times can vary between locations, so please call to confirm.
3) Financial and funding information
For every eye test performed on behalf of the NHS the opticians practice receives a set fee. This includes a contribution towards optometrists and staff salaries, equipment costs and other store overheads. If you are not eligible for the NHS eye test, please contact your local store for details of our current charges and offers. Further information about Vision Express (rather than about the opticians in its employ) can be obtained from Companies House (www.companieshouse.gov.uk) There will be a fee payable for the production of such information by Companies House which will be advised at the time of enquiry. Such information falls outside the publication scheme, as it is not, in itself, public authority information.
4) Regular publications and information for the public
Information about optical and ocular conditions, eye tests, glasses, and contact lenses, can be found on our website, www.visionexpress.com Some of this information is also available in patient leaflets. These are freely available from all our stores. To request a set of leaflets by post, please write to:
The Customer Services ManagerVision Express (UK) Limited
Abbeyfield Road
Lenton
Nottingham
NG7 2SP
5) 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 store concerned. If the matter cannot be resolved in this way or you are unsatisfied with the response you receive please contact Customer Services on 0115 9865225. A full copy of our complaints policy is available on request and can be found in Class 6.
6) Our policies and procedures
- Complaints
- Data protection
- Health and safety
These are all available from:
The Customer Services ManagerVision Express (UK) Limited
Abbeyfield Road
Lenton
Nottingham
NG7 2SP
7) 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 of the cost of these charges that will have to be paid in advance.
- E-mail will be free of charge.
Useful resources
Websites
Publications
Freedom of Information Act 2000