Publication Scheme

What Is A Publication Scheme

The Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely published by West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust. It is a description of the information about our Trust, which we make publicly available. We shall 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 easily find information about West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust has a legal duty to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme. The purpose of the Act is to promote greater openness by public authorities - of which West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust is one.

Access to Personal Information

The Freedom of Information Act does not change the right of patients for protection of their patient confidentiality in accordance with Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention, the Data Protection Act 1998 and at common law.

Maintaining the legal right to patient confidentiality continues to be an important commitment on our part. To help with this, West Midlands Ambulance Service has a Caldicott Guardian who is responsible for ensuring that patient confidentiality throughout the Trust in accordance with your legal rights.

West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust Caldicott Guardian is;

Dr Andrew Carson
West Midlands Ambulance Service
Millennium Point
Waterfront Business Park
Brierley Hill
West Midlands
DY5 1LX
Email: andy.carson@wmas.nhs.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1384 215555

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you are also entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you. For more information, please see our Fair Processing Notice or our Subject Access Requests Guidance.  

If you are the Police requesting personal information in relation to a investigation, please click here.

If you are Solicitors who are requesting access to personal information on behalf of your client, please click here.

If you require access to personal information held about you by the Trust or advice on how to do this, please contact our Head of Information Governance.

Information Management

Any information we hold, will be retained in line with the Trust’s retention and disposal schedules, which comply with The Records Management: NHS Code of Practice (April 2006) and National Archive Guidance.

Feedback And Complaints

If you have any questions, comments or if you have a complaint about the operation of the Publication Scheme, or how the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust has dealt with your request for information from the Scheme, please forward them in writing to the Freedom of Information and Document Control Officer.

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 West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust under the NHS Openness Code 1995. Please write to:

Department of Health
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2NL

There are occasions that some or all of the information cannot be provided and we will explain the reasons why not when this happens.

The Sections Of Information That We Hold

Further information available will be added to the Sections below once approved by the Trust Board.

The information is grouped into 6 Sections which are as follows:

Section 1. Who We Are And What Do We Do

• The NHS and how we fit
• Organisational Structure
• List of information relating to the organisations with which we work in partnership
• Senior staff and management Board Members
• Location and contact details

Section 2. What We Spend And How We Spend It

• Staff and Board Members allowances and expenses
• Staff pay and grading structures
• Funding (including endowments), Procurement and tendering processes
• Details of contracts currently being tendered
• List and value of contracts awarded and their value

Section 3. What Are Our Priorities And How Are We Doing

• How we make decisions
• Board papers – agenda, supporting papers and minutes
• Patient and Public Involvement Strategy (PPI), Public Consultations
• Internal Communications

Section 4. Our Policies, Procedures And Strategies

• Policies & Procedures relating to the conduct of business and the provision of Services
• Policies and Procedures relating to Human Resources (including Race, Disability, Age and Gender, Equal Opportunities)
• Policies and Procedures relating to Recruitment and Employment
• Standing Financial Procedures
• Standing Orders
• Complaints and other customer service policies and procedures
• Data Protection/Information Governance/Caldicott Guardian
• Estates Management

Section 5. List Of Registers

• Information we are currently legally required to hold in publicly available registers
• List of main contractors/suppliers
• Asset Register and Information Asset Register
• Any Register of Interests kept in the authority
• Register of Gifts and Hospitality provided to Board members and Senior Personnel
• Disclosure Log

Section 6. The Service We Offer

• Clinical services provided and/or commissioned
• Non-clinical services
• Services for which the authority is entitled to recover a fee together with those fees
• Patient information leaflets and other booklets and newsletters
• PALS
• Advice and guidance
• Corporate communications and media releases

Each section will outline how you can obtain its information. This will be either via the website or as a hard copy or other media as stated within each Section. The publications are all free unless otherwise indicated within each Section. Please see our Charges and Fees for further information. 

The Trust’s commitment to publish information excludes any information, which can legitimately be withheld under the exemptions set out in the NHS Openness Code or the Freedom of Information Act. Where individual Sections are subject to exemptions, the main reasons are for example, the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This applies to most Sections within the Publication Scheme. The Publication Scheme will be available in both hard copy and on our web site.

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