Freedom of information
Freedom of information
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives any person the right to request any information which is held by a public authority.
The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is to promote openness by public authorities by increasing transparency and accountability, and improving decision making.
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is a public authority, so we have a legal duty to adopt and maintain a scheme for the publication of information. Any person who makes a request for information to the Trust will be informed if we hold the information and be supplied with a copy of it if requested, unless an exemption applies.
Under Freedom of Information, public authorities are required to publish and maintain a publication scheme. The publication scheme is a list of the information held by the organisation, which is routinely available. It sets out the classes of information held and how it can be accessed.
The purpose of the scheme is to enable significant amounts of information to be made available without the need for a specific request.
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust aims to make much of the information it holds available online.
Any requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act can be sent to either foi@boltonft.nhs.uk or by post to the;
Freedom of Information Co-ordinator,
Informatics Building – Opposite N Block,
Royal Bolton Hospital,
Minerva Road, Farnworth,
Bolton,
BL4 0JR
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust makes a great deal of information available on this website.
The Freedom of Information Act makes it clear that a public authority does not need to provide information if it is already reasonably accessible.
So before you make a request under FOI you should check the website. If you can’t find the information, we can help you.
Although most people use their rights under FOI sensibly and responsibly, some individuals and organisations do not. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has produced a charter which sets out how your rights can be used responsibly and which will help you to make legitimate FOI requests.
Contact Information
By post:
Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
Informatics Building – Opposite N Block
Royal Bolton Hospital
Minerva Road
Farnworth
Bolton
BL4 0JR
Tel: 01204 390 861
By Email:
For general information about the Freedom of Information Act, see the Information Commissioner’s website: Information Commissioner (links to external website).
We are committed to openness and aim to release as much information as possible both routinely and in response to requests under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation.
In most cases there is no charge to you if we provide you with information under FOI. We do, however, have the right to charge you if a response is likely to take us more than two and a half days of work. We also have the right to charge you if photocopying, postage, reformatting etc. costs more than £35.
