Anyone, anywhere in the world, can make a FOI or EIR request to Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust

You can seek any recorded information that you think Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust may hold.

You do not have to know whether the information you want is covered by the EIR or the FOI Act. When you make a request, we will decide which law applies. If the information is your own personal data, then you should make a subject access request under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 not an FOI request. 

FOI and EIR requests can be made verbally but prefer this in writing and can be either posted or emailed to Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospital NHS Trust

Send email requests to BHRUT.FreedomOfInformation@nhs.net  

For postal requests, please send to the following address:

Freedom of Information, Information Governance Department, 4 Lyon Road, Romford, RM1 2BA, UK

The FOI Act requires certain information to be supplied before we can respond to your request:

• your real name – we do not have to respond to requests submitted under a pseudonym
• our address (this could be your email address)
• a description of the information you wish to obtain
• any preferences for the format in which you wish to receive the information for example electronic or hard copy. We will endeavour to meet your preferences but cannot guarantee that we will be able to. 

You do not need to:

• explicitly mention the FOI Act or EIR, although it may be helpful
• know whether the information is covered by the FOI Act or the EIR
• say why you want the information
• specify particular documents; you have a right to information, however it is recorded.

Comprehensive guidance on submitting requests is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office. However, we recommend the following.

Do:

• Clearly identify the information you want. Be clear about date ranges or timescales. If it is not clear what you are requesting, we may need to seek further clarification from you.
• Be as specific as possible. Ask questions such as “what” or “how much” as this is much more likely to result in a useful response.
• Use straightforward, polite language.

Do not:

• Use open-ended questions such as “why”. We do not have to answer your question if this would mean creating new information or giving an opinion or judgment that is not already recorded.
• Base your request on assumptions or opinions.
• Mix your request with complaints or comments.

We have a legal obligation to reply to your FOI or EIR request within 20 working days of receipt. We will do one of the following:

• Supply you with the information you requested.
• Inform you that we don’t hold the information and, if we are able, advise you who does.
• Inform you that we hold the information requested but refuse to provide all or part of it and explain why, citing one or more of the exemptions from the FOI Act or exceptions under EIR where relevant.
• Inform you that we need to extend the 20-working day deadline either to allow us to consider the Public Interest Test for FOI requests or if the request is considered particularly complex for EIR requests.

You can ask us for an internal review of your FOI or EIR request. When you write to us requesting an internal review, we will acknowledge your request and tell you how long the review will take. We aim to complete internal reviews within 20 working days, although cases that are complex may take longer. Where internal reviews go over 20 working days, we will keep you informed of progress.

If, after an internal review, you are still not satisfied you can then complain to the Information Commissioner. For details of how to do this visit the ICO website.

Full details of how to ask for an internal review will be included in our initial response to your request.

Details of how to complain further to the Information Commissioner will be included in our response to your internal review request.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust are currently working with the Information Commissioner’s Office in response to an enforcement issued under section 52 of the Freedom of Information Act to improve performance. As a result we are publishing our FOI performance data and action plan on a monthly basis.

   Surplus/defecit per month, with running backlog (cases over 20 days old)

FOI requests received per month, split into breached and not breached (completed and in progress), with percentage compliance.

*This is a live month and so the compliance figure is not finalised. 

Our action plan is updated regularly internally to ensure continued progress is made against our commitment to improving our Freedom of Information processes. 
 

Download a copy of our action plan below: 

FOI Action Plan [xlsx] 28KB

Data protection legislation gives individuals or their authorised representative the right to apply for copies of any personal information held about them by the Trust.

If you wish to access your personal information held at any of the Trust’s health centres, clinics or other sites, please email bhrccgs.accesstohealthrequest@nhs.net

If you are seeking copies of your child’s health records, you will also need to supply proof of your child’s identity and your parental responsibility. Access to health records legislation allows us to share health records of a deceased person with authorised representative(s) or any person who may have a claim arising out of that person’s death. If you are requesting personal information about someone who has died you will need to supply a copy of their death certificate and proof that you are the executor or a beneficiary within the last will and testament.

You can also request health records by post to:  

Subject Access Team
Health Records Department
1st Floor Blue Zone, Queen’s Hospital
Romford
ESSEX
RM7 0AG