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Formerly: St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust

Freedom of Information Guidance

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000  grants the public the right to access information held by public authorities. Here are the key points:

Before you make a Freedom of Information Request.

  • Please review our Publication Scheme to see if it includes the information you need. This may save you time in putting in a request to the Trust and waiting for a response, also if already published you will be directed to the Publication Scheme - Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust - MWL NHS | FOI Requests 2024-25
  • If you still can't find what you're looking for, please submit a written request to us via letter or email. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), we cannot accept verbal requests for information - foirequests@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk or write to us at the below address:

Jubilee Court
Academy Site
Waterside
St Helens
WA9 1TT

  • Make sure to include a contact name and address in your request, whether it's a postal or email address, so we know where to send our response.
  • Provide as much detail as possible about the information you need. This will help us process your request more efficiently.
  • Please note that the Freedom of Information covers only recorded information the Trust may hold.

Every effort will be made to respond to your request within the 20 working day timescale. Should you have any questions regarding this, please contact us at foirequests@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk

We are not required to make information routinely available when:

  • We do not hold the information requested
  • The information is exempt from disclosure under legislation (such as the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Data Protection Act 2018), e.g. personal data, confidential information or information that is commercially sensitive
  • The Trust cannot easily access the information and it would take too much time to provide .

To view our Freedom of Information requests:

The Freedom of Information Act does not change the right of patients to protection of their patient confidentiality in accordance with Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention, the Data Protection Act 2018 and common law. Maintaining the legal right to patient confidentiality continues to be an important commitment on our part. To help with this, we have appointed someone who is called a Caldicott Guardian, and who has responsibility to ensure the protection of patient confidentiality throughout the Trust in accordance with your legal rights.

Our Caldicott Guardian is Mr Alex Benson, Burns & Plastics Consultant
 

Other key Information Governance roles and individuals are:

Malcolm Gandy, Director of Informatics, Senior Information Risk Owner
Camilla Bhondoo, Head of Risk Assurance, Data Protection Officer.
 

Information Governance Team

Contact details:

or write to us at the below address:​

Jubilee Court
Academy Site
Waterside
St Helens
WA9 1TT

 

Charges for information listed in the Publication Scheme

Most of the information listed in the Publication Scheme will be provided at no charge, such as information on the Trust website; this is clearly stated in the Scheme. The Trust may make a charge for photocopies/print-outs of documents, copies on formats such as CD-ROM / disks and postage. You will be informed of the exact charge before the information is provided. We will require payment before providing the information.

 

Medical records

Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you are also entitled to access your medical records or any other personal information held about you. This is known as a Right of Access or Subject Access Request, not an FOI.

More information can be found here:

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust - MWL NHS | Access to your Personal Data

 

Complaints about the Publication Scheme

The Trust's Publication Scheme will be reviewed on an annual basis. Certain elements may be updated throughout the year where practical and possible. If you have any comments, queries or complaints about the publication scheme or the processing of your request, please address these to:

Rob Cooper
Chief Executive
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Whiston Hospital
Warrington Road
Prescot
Merseyside
L35 5DR
Tel: 0151 426 1600 (switchboard)

Alternatively, you are entitled to appeal to the Information Commissioner (Tel: 01625 545 745). Further details can be found at https://ico.org.uk/. The Information Commissioners Office enforces and oversees the Data Protection Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Environmental Information Regulations and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. To find out more about the information rights in the public interest visit https://ico.org.uk/.

 

Feedback​

If you need any help in accessing information in this Publication Scheme, or have any questions, comments or complaints about this scheme, please contact the Publication Scheme Co-ordinator by writing to:

Anne-Marie Stretch
Deputy Chief Executive 
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Whiston Hospital
Warrington Road
Prescot
Merseyside
L35 5DR
Telephone: 0151 426 1600​