Click here to make an Information Request (FOI)
Under current legislation, we are required to maintain a publication scheme which provides public access to all of the information we routinely publish, and to respond to ad hoc requests for information in a timely manner.
We also have Disclosure Log which may contain the information you require.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides any person with the right to obtain corporate (i.e. non-personal/identifiable) information held by the University Hospitals of North Midlands
NHS Trust. This request must be made in writing and you can make make your request here: Make an FOI Request - Your request will automatically be acknowledged and the Trust has 20 Working Days in which to respond.
For more information about making an FOI request, please see the Information Commissioner’s (ICO) page on How to access information from a public body. It may not always be possible to provide all the information requested. There are a number of valid reasons why some information may be withheld, but we will tell you if an exemption is being applied and why. Some exemptions are absolute while others require us to consider whether providing the information to answer your request is in the public intrest or whether withholding the disclosure outweighs the public intrest in releasing it. If this is the case, we will advise you of our reasons for withholding the data.
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 give you the right to obtain information held by public authorities about the environment.
We co-ordinate our responses to both Freedom of Information and Environmental Information requests from the same office and you can make an EIR request here: Make An EIR Request. Your request will automatically be acknowledged and the Trust has 20 Working Days in which to respond.
For more information about making either an FOI or EIR request, please see the Information Commissioner’s (ICO) page on How to access information from a public body. It may not always be possible to provide all the information requested. There are a number of valid reasons why some information may be withheld but we will tell you if an exemption is being applied and why. Some exemptions are absolute while others require us to consider whether providing the information to answer your request is in the public interest or whether withholding the disclosure outweighs the public interest in releasing it. If this is the case, we will advise you of our reasons for withholding data.
Patients are able to obtain a copy of their own health records. To do this, please contact The Ministeries Office. Although you can make a request verbally, it helps the staff to identify the information you require quickly if you complete the appropriate form, which the Ministeries team will provide you with. They will also ask you to provide copies of identification. On receipt of the completed form and identification, the Trust is legally allowed one month (30 calendar days) to process your request.
If you have any issues using our online form or any other queries, please contact FOI@uhnm.nhs.uk
If you wish to make a complaint about the way your FOI or EIR request has been handled, please contact the Trust via FOI@uhnm.nhs.uk in the first instance.
Please make sure to quote your FOI reference number when making your complaint. If the Trust is unable to resolve the complaint and you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you can make a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Top Tips for Successful Information Requests
To allow us to manage your request swiftly and efficiently, you may find it helpful to consider the ICO’s advice contained in the ICO Guidance – How to access information from a public authority.
It is important that requests are clear and focussed, providing the Trust with enough information to determine and understand what information you are seeking. If your request does not allow us to make that determination, we will likely need to respond back to you asking for clarification. Our overall timeframe for answering your request will halt at that point – further delaying us in providing you with your information, so it is important that you make your request clear and specific.
If your request is very general or you are asking for a large volume of information, you may wish to consider narrowing or refining the scope of your question. This may help you to get the information you are requesting in a timely manner.
Access to Information Privacy Notice
This privacy notices advises you on how the Trust collects and uses your personal information that is provided to us via a request for information.
What Information we collect
How we collect your information
The bulk of information we collect has been provided to us by you for one of the following reasons:
How we use your information
We use the information that you have provided in order to answer your request for information made under the relevant access to information legislation (either FOI Act/EIR Regulations or the Data Protection Act 2018). We will only use your information when the law allows us to do so or where it is necessary to allow us to complete one or more of our official functions. Most commonly, we will use your personal information where:
Who we share your data with
We will NOT:
Our Lawful Basis for processing your personal information
Under the Data Protection Act 2018 (and the UK GDPR), we rely on the following lawful bases to process your personal information:
Special category data is that which is particularly sensitive (for example your health record data) and this requires a higher level of protection.
To allow us to use this data we need to provide further and additional justification for collecting, storing and using special category data.
If required, we will process special category data in the following circumstances:
Transferring Data Abroad
The Trust does not share your personal information outside of the UK without ensuring that sufficient safeguards are in place that meet the ICO’s criteria, together with the requirements of the UK GDPR.
Automated Decision Making
There are restrictions on decision-making based solely on automated means (i.e. without any human involvement), this includes restrictions on profiling. In terms of FOI requests, the Trust does not utilise automated decision-making without human involvement. If you have any queries, please contact the Trust’s Data Protection Officer.
How we store your Personal information
Information on this subject is available at the Trust’s over-arching privacy notice which can be found here.
How long do we keep your information
Your personal information is stored in accordance with the NHS Records Management Code of Practice
Your rights under the Data Protection Act 2018
Information on this subject is available at the Trust’s over-arching privacy notice which can be found here.
How to contact us
Information on this subject is available at the Trust’s over-arching privacy notice which can be found here.
How to complain
Information on this subject is available at the Trust’s over-arching privacy notice which can be found here.
Some of the information we provide to you under the Requests for Information legislation (FOI Act/EIR Regulations) will be subject to copyright protection.
It is appropriate for you to use the information we provide for your own purposes, including any non-commercial research that you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other re-use will require the permission of the copyright holder. This is to comply with the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.
It is NOT appropriate or admissible for you to use personal data for direct or electronic marketing purposes (e.g. including but not limited to email, telephone calls, letters) or to provide it to third parties. Any such action does not have the consent of the data subject concerned and that by selling, giving or sharing of this personal information would be a breach of the Data Protection Act 2018. Any re-use of this nature must only be undertaken with the prior written permission of the Trust.
For information on where the copyright is owned (in the case of corporate data), please submit a request in writing with:
