Freedom of information

The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is to promote greater openness and transparency by public authorities. FOIA provides the public with the right to obtain information held by public authorities unless there is a legal reason why the information may not be disclosed or must remain confidential.

All information which is readily available is provided in the form of a publication scheme, which is a guide to the information routinely published by University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust (the Trust). It is a description of the information which is made publicly available by the Trust. The scheme will be reviewed at regular intervals and the operation of the scheme monitored. Under Section 19 of the FOIA the Trust has a legal duty to adopt and maintain publication scheme information.

The publication scheme will assist you in finding information which the Trust routinely publishes. The FOIA does not remove the legal and ethical rights of patients to expect confidentiality; maintaining patient confidentiality continues to be an important commitment of the Trust. The Trust does not publish any information relating to individuals, staff, patients or public and access to this information is dealt with under the Data Protection Act.

The categories of information we are required to provide are governed by the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office): www.ico.gov.uk and are classified in a number of key headings, as you will see below.

We also have a  Freedom of Information Log, which lists Freedom of Information requests received by the Trust.