Freedom of Information: Bi-Annual Report Public Board 27th July 2017

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1 Freedom of : Bi-Annual Report Public Board 27th July 2017 Presented for: Presented by: Author Previous Committees Yvette Oade - Chief Medical Officer Lorna Edwards, Access to Health Records Manager / Senior Governance and Data Protection Officer None Trust Goals The best for patient safety, quality and experience The best place to work A centre for excellence for research, education and innovation Seamless integrated care across organisational boundaries Financial sustainability Key points 1. The Board are requested to note the Trust s compliance with the Freedom of Act 2000 ( the FOIA ). 2. Note the current trends in terms of the source(s) of FOIA requests and the type of information sought.

2 1. Summary The Trust responded to 96% of information requests within the statutory timeframe of 20 working days for quarter three and four of 2016/17. This report focuses upon quarter three and quarter four of the previous financial year. The majority of the information requests received during quarter three and four of 2016/17, were from private individuals, members of the press, or other professional networks and the most sought information was on clinical activity, contractual information and services offered. 2. Background The FOIA, which came into force on the 1 st January 2005, provides individuals with a right of access to information held by public authorities, subject to a number of exemptions. It is intended to promote transparency and accountability and provoke well-informed debate with regards to all aspects of public sector activity. 3. Performance since the FOIA came into force Operational responsibility for Trust compliance with the FOIA was assumed by the Governance ( IG ) team in April The IG team consists of five individuals working to ensure that the organisation is compliant with its obligations in relation to legislation and regulated guidance. The Trust has a 95% target for responding to information requests within the 20 working day timeframe. The Trust responded to 96% of information requests within the statutory timeframe of 20 working days within quarter three and quarter four of 2016/17. The number of Freedom of Requests has steadily increased over the years; the graph on the page below shows the gradual trend increase over the last twelve years: Page 1 of 7

3 Trust responses to requests made under the FOIA Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 2005/ / / / / / / / / / / /17 The Senior Governance Officer for the Trust has gained benefit from formal study and training towards the ISEB qualification in Freedom of, allowing for deeper understanding of the legislation and its interface with the Data Protection Act 1998, as well as the provision of expert advice and guidance to members of the public and staff alike. 4. Requests by Primary topic in quarters three & four of 2016/17 These requests can be split by primary topic as follows: Topic Count Clinical activity data 109 Commissioning 2 Complaints, claims and incidents 13 Contractual 49 Corporate 16 Current Affairs 21 Environmental 6 IT Security 4 Patient Safety 5 Page 2 of 7

4 Pharmaceutical 22 Policies and Procedures 12 Services Offered 50 Spend: Non-Pay 34 Spend: Pay 4 Structural 3 Workforce Data 21 Total 371 Requests responded to by primary topic between 01/10/2016 and 31/03/2017 IT Security 1% Pharmaceutical 7% Patient Safety 2% Environmental 2% Current Affairs 7% Services Offered 16% Policies and Procedures 4% Corporate 5% Clinical activity data 35% Commissioning 1% Complaints, claims and incidents Contractual 4% 16% The following chart shows how many requests were made under each topic between quarter three and four of the previous financial year. Row Labels Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Grand Total Clinical activity data Commissioning Complaints, claims and incidents Contractual information Corporate information Current affairs Environmental IT Security Patient safety Pharmaceutical Policies and procedures Services offered Spend: non-pay Spend: pay Structural Workforce data Grand Total Page 3 of 7

5 The majority of requests were for information on clinical activity, contractual information and services offered. These categories have been divided to show the type of information requested from the Trust. Clinical Activity Data: Between quarters three and four of the previous financial year, requests for Clinical Activity Data include: 60 Clinical Activity Data regarding Trust processes and procedures Statistical Analysis of patients attending the Trust regarding Trust waiting times Other Contractual : Between quarters three and four of the previous financial year, requests for contractual information include: Contract and agency details Contractual Tenders / Procurement Equipment in place Other Page 4 of 7

6 Services Offered: Between quarters three and four of the previous financial year, requests for services offered information include: 30 Services Offered Speciality Services Systems Offered Private and Overseas Car Parking Other 5. Requests by source in quarters three & four of 2016/17 These requests can be split by source as follows: Source Count Academic / Research 16 Charity 1 Government/MP 8 Lobby Group 1 NHS 10 Press 71 Private 160 Professional Network 56 Prospective Supplier / Consultant 34 Research 1 Solicitor 2 Student 11 Total 371 Page 5 of 7

7 Student 3% Professional Network 15% Solicitor 1% Research 0% Prospective Supplier / Consultant 9% Requests responded to by souce between 01/10/2016 and 31/03/2017 Press 19% Academic / Research 5% Charity 0% NHS 3% Lobby Group 0% Government/MP 2% Private 43% The majority of requests originated from members of the press, private individuals or other professional networks. From the requests received from private individuals, it is not possible to associate them with any particular organisation or to identify whether they are patients, or members of the general public, as the requests have been made using a personal account. The following chart shows how many requests were made by each source between October 2016 and March Row Labels Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Grand Total Academic/Research Charity Government/MP Lobby NHS Press Private Professional network Prospective supplier/consultant Research Solicitor Student Grand Total Page 6 of 7

8 6. Publication under the Freedom of Act This paper is available under the Freedom of Act Recommendation The Board is asked to receive the bi-annual Freedom of report. Name of Author: Lorna Edwards Title: AHR Manager / Senior Governance Officer Date: 6th July 2017 Page 7 of 7