Freedom of information

The Freedom of Information Act deals with access to official information and gives individuals or organisations the right to request information from any public authority.

The NHS Freedom of Information Publication Guide sets out the type of information that is publicly available from Hall Green Health and how you may go about obtaining such information.

Information about the General Practitioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public.

How do I request information?

Your request must be in writing and can be posted to Hall Green Health.

Please send to the following address:

FAO Quality Assurance Team
Hall Green Health
979 Stratford Road
Hall Green
Birmingham
B28 8BG

If you would have difficulty making a written request, please call us and state that it is a Freedom of Information Request.

What information must I include in my request?

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;
• your address (email addresses are acceptable);
• a description of the information you wish to obtain; and
• any preferences for the format in which you wish to receive the information e.g. electronic or hard copy. We will endeavour to meet your preferences but cannot guarantee that we will be able to.

What you do not need to do:

• explicitly mention the FOI Act, although it may help to do so;
• know whether the information is covered by the FOI Act or the EIR as we will decide this;
• say why you want the information; or
• specify particular documents. You have a right to information, however it is recorded.

How should I word my request?

Comprehensive guidance on submitting effective requests for information is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office. However, to frame an effective request for the information you need:

Do:

• 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;
• do be as specific as possible. If your request is too general, it may be refused on the grounds that replying would exceed the cost limit laid down in the Fees Regulations, which is equivalent to one person working for three and a half days. If this happens, we will ask you to re-submit a narrower, more specific request which could be met within the cost limits and give you advice and assistance to do so;
• do ask questions such as “what” or “how much” as this is much more likely to result in a useful response;
• do use straightforward, polite language.

Don’t:

• don’t 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;
• don’t base your request on assumptions or opinions;
• don’t mix your request with complaints or comments.

What happens when my request is received?

Hall Green Health has a legal obligation to reply to your FOI request and must do so 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 your request will exceed the cost limit specified in the Fees Regulations and invite you to submit a narrower request;
• 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;
• inform you that we are refusing your request on the basis it is repeated or vexatious; or
• inform you that we need more time to consider the public interest test in relation to your request and let you know when to expect a further response. This should not be later than 40 working days after receipt of your request.

What can I do if I am unhappy with the reply I receive or the way my request was handled?

You can ask us for an internal review of your FOI request. When you write to us requesting an internal review, we will acknowledge your letter and tell you how long we think the review will take. We aim to complete internal reviews within 20 working days, although more 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 (ICO).  Details of how to do this are available at the ICO website.

Full details of how to ask us for an internal review will be included in our initial reply to your FOI request. Details of how to complain further to the Information Commissioner will be included in our response to your internal review request.