FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000
MATER HOSPITAL HPSS TRUST PUBLICATION SCHEME

1. Introduction

The Mater Hospital was established in 1883 to provide services to the community of North Belfast. Acute Teaching Hospital status was confirmed in 1908 and in 1948 the Mater became the first hospital in Ireland to establish a psychiatric service on an acute hospital site, acting as a forerunner for the integrated service which is now the accepted gold standard. The hospital entered the Health Service in 1972 under a Deed of Arrangement concerning the governance of the hospital, between the Department of Health and Social Services and the Catholic Church.

The Mater Hospital and its staff have provided services to the local community of north Belfast, south Antrim and more recently to patients throughout Northern Ireland through the regional hepatoibillary service.

The Mater Hospital has a long and significant history as a Teaching Hospital, being one of only 6 hospitals in Northern Ireland undertaking sufficient volume and intensity of training to merit the award of teaching infrastructure funding under the Supplement for Undergraduate Medical and Dental Education (SUMDE) arrangements. In addition to training medical staff, the hospital provides clinical attachments for students in other healthcare professions including nursing, radiography, occupational therapy and EEG. This role as a teaching hospital is key to the continuity development of high quality clinical care in the hospital.

As a public authority the Trust is required under the Freedom of Information Act to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme setting out the classes of information it holds, the manner in which it publishes/intends to publish the information and the charges it intends to make for the information.

As a public body the Trust is committed to the highest standards of accountability and openness and this Publication Scheme has been prepared to enable the Trust to fulfil its obligations under the legislation and to help the public to know what information the Trust makes available. The information referred to in the Scheme will be made available to individuals on request under the terms indicated in the Scheme.

Under the Freedom of Information Act an individual has the right to request information which is not included in this Publication Scheme. However this does not come into force until January 2005.

Overall responsibility for this Publication Scheme rests with the Chief Executive of the Trust. The Publication Scheme is maintained on a day to day basis by the FOI Manager. Both these staff can be contacted at Mater Hospital HPSS Trust, Crumlin Road, Belfast, BT14 6AB.

2. Notes on Using the Scheme

This publication Scheme sets out the information that the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust will publish, how and when it will do so, and whether this information will be available free of charge or on payment. The classes of information to be published are set out under clearly defined headings which reflect the categories of information provided by Mater Hospital HPSS Trust.

Publication does not refer solely to printed material. Publication has been interpreted as broadly as possible to include, for example, electronic documents, information included on the website, minutes of meetings, reports and leaflets.

It is intended, as far as possible, to make material available on the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust website on an ongoing basis. [ www.mater.n-i.nhs.uk]. If an individual does not have access to the internet a single print-out of a specific page will be provided on request.

NORTHERN IRELAND
HEALTH & PERSONAL SOCIAL SERVICES
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000
MATER HOSPITAL HPSS TRUST
SCHEME
June 2003
Mater Hospital HPSS Trust
Model Publication Scheme

Welcome to the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust Publication Scheme. The Scheme is in three parts:

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: The Classes of Information that we hold

Part 3: Inspection and Monitoring Bodies, Index to the Publication Scheme, and Useful Resources

Part 1: Introduction

1.1 What a Publication Scheme is

This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely published by The Mater Hospital HPSS Trust. It is a description of the information about our Trust which we make publicly available. We will review the Scheme at regular intervals and monitor how it is operating.

It is important to us that this Scheme meets your needs and we have designed it to be a route map so that you can find information about the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust easily. Under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (there is a link to the Act on our website [ www.mater.n-i.nhs.uk] in Part 3 below), Mater Hospital HPSS Trust has a legal duty to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme for the publication of the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust information. The purpose of the Act is to promote greater openness by public authorities (of which the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust is one).

The Publication Scheme will help you to find all the information which the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust publishes. The Freedom of Information Act does not change the right of individuals to confidentiality in accordance with Article 8 of the Human Rights Act (1998), the Data Protection Act (1998) and at common law. Maintaining confidentiality continues to be an important commitment on our part. To help with this, we have appointed an officer(s) who has responsibility to ensure the protection of individuals’ confidentiality in accordance with your legal rights. In the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust, this officer(s) is:

John Whitmore
IT Manager
Mater Hospital HPSS Trust
Crumlin Road
Belfast
BT14 6AB

1.2. Feedback

Any questions or comments about this Scheme, or its operation, should be sent in writing to:

John Whitmore
IT Manager
Mater Hospital HPSS Trust
Crumlin Road
Belfast
BT14 6AB

If you have a compliant about the operation of the Scheme or how the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust has dealt with your request for information from the Scheme please write to :

Mary Hinds
Director of Nursing
Mater Hospital HPSS Trust
Crumlin Road
Belfast

1.3. Rights of Access to Information

At the present time, in addition to accessing the information identified in this Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust under the Code of Practice on Openness in the HPSS (1996). A link is available on our website [ www.mater.n-i.nhs.uk] in Part 3 of the Scheme and hard copies are available free of charge from the DHSS & PS, Annexe 2, Stormont, Belfast BT4 3UD. Sometimes, some or all of the information cannot be provided and we will explain the reasons when this happens.

The Freedom of Information Act enables you to know how public services such as the Health & Personal Social Services (HPSS) are organised and run, how funds are used and how you can make complaints if you need to. You have the right to know which services are being provided, the targets that are being set, the standards of services that are expected and the results achieved.

From January 1^st 2005 Freedom of Information Act will also oblige the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust to respond to requests about the information which it holds and is recorded in any form and it will create a right of access to that information. The rights to request and access this information are subject to some exemptions which the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust has to take into consideration before deciding what information can be released.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, individuals are also entitled to access any personal information held about them (subject to certain exceptions) and you can contact John Whitmore, IT Department, Mater Hospital Trust, Crumlin Road, Belfast.

Revised Environmental Information Regulations may be introduced in the future. These will enable similar access to environmental information, as under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Unless otherwise specified, the version of the document(s) available will be the most recently approved by the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust.

To comply with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, this publication scheme will be made available on request in alternative formats as appropriate.

Part 2: The Classes of Information

The information is grouped into broad categories as follows:

We will state how you can obtain the information outlined within each Class. This will be either via the website or as a hard copy or other media as stated within each Class. The publications are all free unless otherwise indicated within each Class [£]. Where information is provided at a cost the charges will be calculated as set out in Class 14.

The Mater Hospital HPSS Trust’s commitment to publish information excludes any information which can legitimately be withheld under the exemptions set out in the Code of Practice on Openness in the HPSS or the Freedom of Information Act. Where individual classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons are e.g. the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This applies to most Classes within the Publication Scheme. The Publication Scheme will be available in both hard copy and may be found on our web site [ www.mater.n-i.nhs.uk].

Class 1. The HPSS and where we fit in

Planning and other documents outlining how we fit into the HPSS structure.

Class 2. Who we are

Details of the organisation, organisational structures and key personnel.

Class 3. Financial and Funding Information

Funding details, charging policies and financial accounts

Class 4. Corporate Information

Reports, policies, minutes of Board and Board Sub-committee meetings and planning documents

Class 5. Aims, Targets and Achievements

Financial targets, aims and objectives and key performance indicators. See also Class 9 below.

Class 6. Our Services

The range of services that we provide for the HPSS and how we deliver these.

Class 7. Reports and Independent Enquiries

Independent inspections and findings regarding the organisation.

See Part 3 for a list of bodies which monitor and inspect us.

Class 8. Policies and Procedures

General policies and procedures in use within the organisation.

Class 9. Public Involvement and Consultation

Details of consultation procedures, decision-making processes, timescales and responses. Consultations in progress and how you can become involved.

Class 10. Communications with the Public

e.g. Guidance and information leaflets, Press Releases

Class 11. Complaints

Policies, procedures and contacts for complaints

Class 12. Human Resources

Employment policies and procedures

Class 13. Environmental Information

Our estate and land holdings, and the uses they currently enjoy. Information required to be placed in the public domain as a result of the Environmental Information Regulations, any Environmental Enforcement action and associated information (see also Introduction to Publication Scheme).

Class 14. This Publication Scheme

In this class we will publish any changes we make to this Publication Scheme, our information management policies and a referral point for all enquires regarding information management generally in the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust. We will also publish any changes or additions to publications already available under this Publication Scheme.

For the most part, we will charge you only for hard copies or copying onto media (e.g. CD ROM). Some information is available free, but for others there may be a charge. The charges will vary according to how information is made available. Charges are as follows:

The charges will be reviewed regularly.

The material available through this Publication Scheme is subject to the Mater Hospital HPSS Trust’s copyright unless otherwise indicated. Unless expressly indicated on the material to the contrary, it may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium, provided it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading manner. Where any of the copyright items in this Scheme are being re-published or copied to others, you must identify the source of the material and acknowledge the copyright status. Permission to reproduce material does not extend to any material accessed through the Publication Scheme that is the copyright of third parties. You must obtain authorisation to reproduce such material from the copyright holders concerned. For HMSO Guidance Notes on a range of copyright issues, see the HMSO web site:

www.hmso.gov.uk/guides.htm

or contact:

HMSO Licensing Division,
St Clements House,
2-16 Colegate,
Norwich,
NR31BQ,
Tel: 01603 621000,
Fax: 01603 723000,
Email: HMSO Licensing

Part 3 : Useful Resources

Web sites:

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
This is the Information Commissioner’s web site

www.lcd.gov.uk
This is the Lord Chancellor’s Department web site

www.foi.nhs.uk
This is the NHS Freedom of Information web site

3.1 Publications

3.2 The bodies involved in the monitoring and/or inspection of HPSS services include: