Freedom of Information

Yeovil District Hospital aims to be open and transparent in all matters, except where to do so would breach patient or commercial confidentiality. The hospital fully supports the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which allows the public to request information about the hospital and its activities. The Company Secretary is responsible for responding to requests and can be contacted by emailing: FOI@ydh.nhs.uk

You can find our responses to previous FOI requests below:

The information we routinely make available is divided into seven categories or classes:

Who we are and what we do

Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts. Biographies of our Executive Team and Board members, information about the legal basis for our activities, and information about how to contact us is included in this section.

What we spend and how we spend it

Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit. Our financial statements and budgets, and information about our pay and grading structure is included in this section.

What our priorities are and how are we doing.

Information about our strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews. Our corporate plan and annual reports are included in this section.

How we make decisions

Decision making processes and records of decisions. Public consultations, minutes of senior level meetings and internal guidance are included in this section.

Our policies and procedures

Current written protocols that we follow when delivering our services and responsibilities. This section includes our policies and procedures for providing our services and for the recruitment and employment of staff, our complaints procedure and our records management policy

Lists and registers

Information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to our functions. This section includes our disclosure log and the Register of Data Controllers.

The services we offer

Advice and guidance, booklets, leaflets, newsletters and media releases. A description of the services we offer.

Fees and charges

The Freedom of Information Act and the associated Fees Regulations stipulate that we cannot levy a fee for information unless there is a statutory basis for doing so or the amount of time taken to locate the information exceeds 18 hours. However we are allowed to charge for disbursements related to the provision of information and any reformatting requested by the applicant provided we ensure that applicants are aware of any charges which may be made. No charges will be made for any information accessed via our website. For any information which is provided in hard copy and where there is no statutory provision for charges our rates for photocopying, reformatting and postage will normally be as follows:

Photocopies

A4 black and white: 10p per printed side A3 black and white: 20p per printed side A4 colour: £1 per printed side A3 colour: £1.50 per printed side And other sheets pro rata

Fax

To UK and Ireland: £1 per printed side Other destinations by agreement in advance

Print-Outs from a PC

Black and White: 10p per printed side Colour: 50p per printed side

Photo Quality Paper Prints

£1 per printed side

Postage

At the prevailing Royal Mail rates Provision of documents that require scanning or provision requested through alternative media will incur a charge that will be agreed in advance on request to the Freedom of Information Lead. The Trust, at its own discretion, will determine to waive all costs under £5 in respect of a single request made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; however, above this sum full disbursement costs will be charged. This decision will be reviewed periodically in line with charges set out in the Trust Freedom of Information Policy. If you want any further information about the provision of information or have any difficulty accessing information provided on our website please contact the Trust’s Freedom of Information Officer by e-mail on [email protected] or write to us at the following address: Freedom of Information Officer Management Office Yeovil District Hospital Level 1 Higher Kingston Yeovil BA21 4AT