Freedom of information
Under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 you have the right to request access to information held by public sector organisations, of which Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is one.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent information rights watchdog, has introduced a model publication scheme for public sector organisations such as NHS trusts. The scheme contains seven classes of information. These are shown in the navigation on the left. If you are looking for information about Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, you may find it in one of these sections.
If you are a patient, you can find out how to access your medical records in our patient confidentiality section.
Like many other NHS organisations, the Trust has seen an increase in the number of FOI requests received. From April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011 the Trust received 364 FOI requests, compared to 291 in 2009/10 (an increase of 21 percent and the second year in succession to show such increase).
The Trust receives 30-40 Freedom of Information requests a month covering a wide range of topics and sources from national newspapers to current patients. You can see some examples of requests we have received, statistics and key facts about the organisation that have featured in FOI requests at the following link.
How to request information
If you cannot find the information you require on our website, you can send an FOI request to the Trust using the following contact details:
Address:
Freedom of information manager
Press and communications
Second floor, centre block, Mint wing
St Mary’s Hospital
South Wharf Road
London W2 1NY
Telephone: 020 3312 5585
Email: foi@imperial.nhs.uk
Please note that the Freedom of Information Act includes a number of exemptions, and it may be the case that a request falling under one of these exemptions cannot be fulfilled. Also in some cases where a request is exceptionally complex or wide-ranging a fee may be applied following discussion with and the agreement of the person making the request.
Data protection and FOI – how do the two interact?
The Data Protection Act 1998 primarily functions to safeguard and protect information held about individuals. It also provides individuals with a right of access to any personal information held that relates to them.
Please note that the FOI Act does not give individuals access to their personal information. Any such request would be treated as a Data Protection Act subject access request. If the individual chooses to make this information public, it could be used alongside non-personal information gained by the public under the terms of the FOI Act.
Environmental information regulations
The environmental information regulations give you the right to obtain information about the environment held by public authorities, unless there are good reasons to keep it confidential.
• Read more about the environmental information regulations
NHS openness code
The Trust is committed to the NHS openness code.
Expenditure over £25,000
As part of the government’s commitment to greater transparency, there is a requirement to publish online, central government expenditure over £25,000.
Publication of expenditure over £25,000