Freedom of Information

If you wish to make a request for information about the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust it is best to contact the Communications Department on (01522) 573986 in the first instance.

Access to information

Information about your personal treatment and care will normally be something you will discuss with the healthcare professionals with whom you come into contact. However there may be other issues about which you would like further information and on this part of our website we explain how you can get such information.

If you want to ask us for information which we may hold about you personally then this will be dealt with under the Data Protection Act 1998. This includes information relating to health records, employment and training records – anything which is limited to you as a person whether as a patient, employee or partner of any kind.

If you wish to have a copy of what information (if any) the trust holds about you, you will need to make an application. Please note there may be a fee of between £10 and £50 sterling for this service alongside your completed application form.

Department of Health guidelines require us to comply with your request within 21 days. However the Data Protection Act gives us 40 days from when we receive your completed request and payment. The process of replying can take some time depending on what you have asked for.

Please be advised that if you request a full copy of your medical records, including x-rays, you may be charged the maximum amount regardless of whether the trust holds any x-rays. Therefore it is in your interests to only apply for the records that you want.

If you need a subject access form, to apply for any information, please telephone your relevant Health Records Department between 9am-5pm Monday-Friday.

Once you have completed the form please send to the appropriate Health Records Department.

Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Publication scheme

In order to comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 public sector organisations such as ours have to routinely publish information whenever possible.

The Information Commissioner, who is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, has drawn up what is called a Model Publication Scheme for all public sector organisations which we have decided to adopt and formally commit to.

Model publication scheme (PDF, 44KB)

The commissioner has also published a Definition Document for NHS Organisations which sets out in some detail what his minimum expectations are as far as we are concerned.

Definition document (PDF, 50KB)

Most of the information we make routinely available can be accessed through our website by using the search facility. Such information is continually updated. If you cannot find information through the search engine and we have indicated in the definition document that the information is routinely available this may be because the information cannot be loaded onto our website.

In such circumstances please contact our Corporate Services Manager and ask for the information to be provided to you.

As an open and transparent organisation we are committed to routinely publishing as much information as possible; however if you want information which is not on our website you may ask us for it in accordance with further provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

If you wish to make a request for information about the trust under the Freedom of Information Act, all queries should be directed to:

Corporate Services Manager
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Trust Headquarters
Lincoln County Hospital
Greetwell Road
Lincoln
LN2 4AX
Email: FOI@ulh.nhs.uk

By law we have to deal with such requests within 20 working days. If you make a request and are not satisfied with the way in which we deal with it you may ask us to review any decision we make. If you wish us to undertake such a review you should write to:

Chief Executive
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Trust Headquarters
Lincoln County Hospital
Greetwell Road
Lincoln
LN2 4AX

Any review will normally be under the control and direction of a senior member of staff who had no involvement in the original decision or process. If you remain dissatisfied at the conclusion of any review you may complain to the Information Commissioner whose address is:

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

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.

If you want any further information about the provision of information or have any difficulty accessing information provided on our website please contact:

Anna Temple
Media Officer
Trust Headquarters
Lincoln County Hospital
Greetwell Road
Lincoln
LN2 4AX
or Email: Anna.Temple@ulh.nhs.uk