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Freedom of Information

NHS Freedom of Information Project Board Model Publication Scheme for Acute Trusts

Welcome to the Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Publication Scheme. The Publication Scheme is in three parts, as follows:

Part one: Introduction
Part two: The Classes of Information we hold
Part three: Inspection and Monitoring Bodies, Index to the Publication Scheme, and Useful Resources

Part one: Introduction

What a publication scheme is

This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely published by Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It is a description of the information about our Trust which we make publicly available. We shall review the Scheme at regular intervals and monitor how it is operating.

It is important to us that this Scheme meets your needs and we have designed it to be a route map so that you can find information about Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust easily. Under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Trust has a legal duty to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme for the publication of Trust information. The purpose of the Act is to promote greater openness by public authorities, of which Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one.

The Publication Scheme will help you to find all the information which the Trust publishes. The Freedom of Information Act does not change the right of patients to protection of their patient confidentiality in accordance with Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention, the Data Protection Act and at common law. Maintaining the legal right to patient confidentiality continues to be an important commitment on our part.

To help with this, we have appointed someone who is called a Caldicott Guardian, and who has responsibility to ensure the protection of patient confidentiality throughout the Trust in accordance with your legal rights. In Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust our Caldicott Guardian is:

Medical Director
Trust HQ
Dorset County Hospital
Williams Avenue
Dorchester. DT1 2JY

Information Management

Information falling into the Classes will be retained in line with the Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s retention and disposal schedules, which comply with circular HSC1999/53 and Public Record Office Guidance.

Information not required for the business purposes of the Trust is stored at the Trust for the purpose of holding public records.

Feedback

Any questions, comments or complaints about this Scheme should be sent in writing to:

Jan Bergman
Chief Executive
Trust HQ
Dorset County Hospital
Williams Avenue
Dorchester. DT1 2JY

Email the Chief Executive

If you have a complaint about the operation of the Publication Scheme, or how the Trust has dealt with your request for information from the Scheme, please write to:

Freedom of Information Co–ordinator
Trust HQ
Dorset County Hospital
Williams Avenue
Dorchester. DT1 2JY

Rights of Access to Information

At the present time, in addition to accessing the information identified in this Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust under the NHS Openness Code 1995. A link to this is available in Part 3 of the Scheme and hard copies are available free of charge from the Department of Health.

Department of Health
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London. SW1A 2NS

Sometimes, some or all of the information cannot be provided and we will explain the reasons why not when this happens.

The Freedom of Information Act recognises that as a member of the public, 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.

From January 1st 2005 it will also oblige the Trust to respond to requests about the information which it holds and is recorded in any form and it will create a right of access to that information. The rights to request and access to this information are subject to some exemptions which the Trust has to take into consideration before deciding what information can be released.

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 our Health Records Department to do this:

Health Records Manager
Dorset County Hospital
Williams Avenue
Dorchester. DT1 2JY

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.

Part two: The Classes of Information we hold

The information is grouped into broad categories as follows:

The NHS and how we fit
Who we are
Financial and Funding Information
Corporate Information
Aims, Targets and Achievements
Our Services
Reports and Independent Enquiries
Policies and Procedures
Public Involvement and Consultation
Regular Publications and Information for the Public
Complaints
Human Resources
Communications and Media Relations
Environmental Information
This Publication Scheme

We will state how you can obtain the information outlined within each Class. This will be either via the website or as a hard copy or other media as stated within each Class. The publications are all free unless otherwise indicated within each Class. Where information is provided at a cost, the charges will be calculated as set out in Class 15.

The Trust’s commitment to publish information excludes any information which can legitimately be withheld under the exemptions set out in the NHS Openness Code or the Freedom of Information Act. Where individual classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons are the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This applies to most Classes within the Publication Scheme.

The Publication Scheme will be available in both hard copy and on our web site.

Our policy is to routinely publish information on our website. Those who cannot gain access to the Internet should contact our Freedom of Information Co–ordinator in writing for a hard copy of the relevant information.