Freedom of information

To make a request

You can make a request under the Freedom of Information Act by email to:

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 came into force on 1 January 2005. The Act promotes openness and accountability in the public sector and provides the public with a general right of access to information held by public authorities.

If the authority holds the information and it is not legally exempt from disclosure the authority has a duty to supply the information requested within 20 working days.

While most requests for information are dealt with without making a charge, any request for information which would take more than 18 hours (two and a half working days) to produce can be charged for, or can be refused.

The Environmental Information Regulations are an alternative way of requesting information from public authorities when the information being requested relates to the environment. These regulations will be applied instead of the Freedom of Information Act if we consider this to be the case.

All NHS organisations must have a guide to information to inform people about types of information held and how it can be accessed. This is a requirement under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This is called a publication scheme and can be found at the bottom of this page.

Disclosure log and frequently requested information

We get a lot of requests for information so it may be that we have already provided the information you need. The disclosure logs list all the recent requests we have dealt with and you can also look at the most frequently requested FOI’s.

Requests for information

You should provide us with your full name and contact address (either an email or postal address), a clear description of the information you want and the format you want to receive the information, such as by email or postal response.

Your request for information must be made in writing either by e-mail to or by post to:

Freedom of Information
Communications Department
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Northumbria House
7-8 Silver Fox Way
Cobalt Business Park
North Shields
Tyne and Wear
NE27 0QJ

Any queries can be directed to 0844 811 8111 ext 1301.

Complaints

If you are not happy with the response you receive, you must first contact the Information Governance Manager by email on

If you remain unhappy you can complain to the who will decide whether the request has been handled properly.

Re-use of information

There is no charge for re-use of routinely published information, but in line with the re-use of public sector information regulations (2005), we ask that if you do re-use any information that you quote the document title and acknowledge that it was published by this organisation and remains our copyright.

Caldicott Guardian

We are committed to maintaining the legal right to patient confidentiality. To help with this, we have a Caldicott Guardian who has responsibility to ensure the protection of patient confidentiality throughout the Trust in accordance with a patient’s legal rights. Our Caldicott Guardian is:

Mr David Evans
Medical Director
North Tyneside General Hospital
Rake Lane
North Shields
NE29 8NH

Accessing your records

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, individuals have a right of access to information held about them, such as patient records or staff records (if you are an employee of the Trust). To request your patient or staff record, please fill in the application form or apply in writing to:

Health records manger

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

7-8 Silver Fox Way

Cobalt Business Park

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE27 0QJ

Publication scheme

This is our guide to information held and where to access it:

Publication scheme requirement	Where to find the information
*Who we are and how we do it*
How we fit into the NHS structure	About us
Organisational Structure	About us
Lists of and information relating to organisational partnerships
Senior staff and management board members	About us
Location and contact details for all public-facing departments	Our services and patients and visitors
*What we spend and how we spend it*
Annual statement of accounts, budgets and variance reports	Corporate, strategies and reports
Financial audit reports	Corporate, strategies and reports
Standing financial instructions	Corporate, strategies and reports
Capital programme	Corporate, strategies and reports
Staff and board members allowances and expenses	Corporate, strategies and reports
Funding (including endowment funds)	Corporate, strategies and reports
Procurement and tendering procedures	Corporate, become a supplier
Details of contracts currently being tendered	Corporate, become a supplier
List and value of contracts awarded and their value	Corporate, become a supplier
*What are our priorities and how are we doing?*
Annual report	Corporate, strategies and reports
Annual business plan	Corporate, strategies and reports
Targets, aims and objectives	Corporate, strategies and reports
Strategic direction documentation (5 year plan	Corporate, strategies and reports
Performance against targets (KPI/performance framework)	Corporate, strategies and reports and Quality and safety
Clinical governance	Corporate, strategies and reports and Quality and safety
Audit reports	Corporate, strategies and reports
Service user surveys	Patients & Visitors and quality and safety
*How we make decisions*
Board papers - agenda, supporting papers and minutes	Corporate, strategies and reports
Patient and public involvement strategy (PPI), Public consultations	Members and governors, about us and media
*Our policies and procedures*
Conduct of business and provision of service
Human resources	Work for us
Recruitment and employment	Work for us
Standing financial procedures	Corporate, strategies and reports
Standing orders
Complaints and customer service p&p	Patients & Visitors
Information governance	Freedom of Information
Estate management, charging regimes and policies	Patients and visitors
*List and registers*
Information currently legally required to hold in publicly available registers	Corporate, strategies and reports
List of main contractors / suppliers	Corporate, strategies and reports
Assets registers and information asset register	Corporate, strategies and reports
Register of interest kept in the authority	Corporate, strategies and reports
Register of gifts and hospitality provided to board members and senior personnel	Corporate, strategies and reports
Disclosure log	Corporate, strategies and reports
*The services we offer*
Clinical services provided/commissioned	Our Services
Non-clinical services	Our Services
Services for which the authority is entitled to recover a fee, stated fee	Corporate, strategies and reports
Patient information leaflets, booklets, newsletters	Patients & Visitors
PALS	Patients & Visitors
Advice and guidance	Patients & Visitors
Corporate communications and media releases	Media

Northumbria Healthcare

NHS Foundation Trust

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