Requesting information from a public body: freedom of information guidance for health and care professionals

Members of the public can submit FOI requests for information held by your organisation. These requests must be in writing but may be submitted in any format such as email, letter, email, fax, text message, online form or on social media.

If an individual verbally asks you for information, for example during a medical appointment, you should ask them to put the request into writing and provide them with information about who to contact. You should also tell them to include a contact email or postal address for the response to go to.

If you receive an FOI request, you should forward it to the team that deals with FOI requests in your organisation, likely to be the Information Governance (IG) team, as soon as possible.

In most cases the organisation must respond within 20 working days of receipt of the request, though in some circumstances this may be extended, such as when there are exemptions to be considered (see guidance for IG professionals for further information).

It is unlikely that you will be asked to input to the response, but you should provide support and assistance if asked.

Information about named staff members is not routinely disclosed under FOI, as this is classed as personal data, although in some instances, where the information is about senior or public facing roles, information may be released on the basis that it is already publicly available (for example board member salaries published in annual accounts) or it is in the public interest to disclose.

Information relating to staff that is not personal data and does not identify a person, such as the number of nurses employed by the organisation, could be disclosed.