What is the Freedom of Information Act?
It is a law passed by the Government that gives you the right to request information from public services. The aim of the Act is to promote trust and confidence in our public services, including the NHS, by providing clear information and being open about what we do.
What information can I obtain?
You have the right to know how public services such as the NHS are organised and run, how much they cost and how you can make complaints if you need to. You have the right to know which services are being provided, the targets that are being set, the standards of services that are expected and the results achieved.
Will I be able to get access to all of the Trust’s information?
The right to obtain information may be limited by some exemptions which are listed within the Act. The effect of the exemptions is that we may not be able to supply all or part of the information requested. If possible we will supply the information requested with the exempt information removed.
What types of information are being made available?
The Act refers to “classes” of information, and a class is the information available on a particular topic. Therefore a class could be a specific document, such as the Trust policy on the
Data Protection Act 1998, or it could refer to a particular area, e.g. planned building works, which is likely to consist of a variety of documents – blue-prints, consultation papers, photographs, supplier contracts, etc. Information is not limited to paper documents.
What information is already available?
We recognise the importance of the freedom of information and we have therefore made sure that most corporate information we produce is available through our
Publication Scheme and that other information will be readily available on request. Our Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely published by the Trust. It is a description of the information we make publicly available.
It is important to us that the Scheme meets your needs and we have designed it to be a route map so that you can find information about the Trust easily. However, if you feel there is information that could usefully be added to the Scheme that we have missed, please feel free to contact us on the address below. Our Scheme can be found on our website here.
It may be that you require information that has already been requested. All requests that are made and the PCT’s responses are published on this website and can be viewed by clicking here for our
FOI Disclosure Log.
Can I get access to information about myself or other patients?
The Freedom of Information Act does not change the legal right of patients to protection of their patient confidentiality. Maintaining this right of confidentiality is an important commitment for all NHS organisations.
To help with this, all Trusts have appointed someone who is called a Caldicott Guardian, who has responsibility to ensure the protection of patient confidentiality throughout each Trust in accordance with patient legal rights. The Caldicott Guardian for our Trust is Phil Wadeson, Director of Finance and Information.
You may obtain access to your own health records under the
Data Protection Act 1998.
Is there a charge for information supplied from the Publication Scheme or from a Freedom of Information Request?
Ordinarily we will not charge a fee for documents unless the supply of information requires us to carry out significant amounts of work or photocopying, in accordance with the fees regulations issued by the Government. If we require a fee we shall inform you of this once we have received your request.
How do I get access to information not contained within the Publication Scheme?
You must make your request in writing, by post, email or fax. The request must include your name, address and contact number so that we can contact you. You do not need to tell us why you want the information.
What will happen when I’ve made my request?
If we cannot reply to your request immediately, we will acknowledge receipt within two working days. We will endeavour to provide the information you have requested within 20 working days of receipt of your request. If we find we are unable to provide the information within 20 working days, we will notify you as soon as possible.
In some circumstances, we may ask you to provide more information to help us locate the information you have requested. We will notify you if all or part of the information you have requested cannot be provided. There are some exemptions, which the Trust has to take into account before deciding if the information that we hold can be released. If this happens, we will explain to you why this information is being withheld and notify you of the complaints and appeals process.
Complaints and appeals
More information about our appeal process is
available here.
