Legal

At the present time, in addition to accessing the information identified in this Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about the Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust under the NHS Openness Code 1995. A link to this is available in Part 3 of the Scheme and hard copies are available free of charge from the Department of Health Publications Unit, Department of Health, P.O. Box 777, London SE1 6XH. Sometimes, some or all of the information cannot be provided and we will explain the reasons why not when this happens.

The Freedom of Information Act recognises that, as a member of the public, you have the right to know how public services such as the NHS are run, how much they cost 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 2005 the Act will also oblige the Trust to respond to requests about the information that 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 Trust has to take into consideration before deciding what information can be released.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you are entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information held about you and you can contact the Trust's Data Protection Officer/Director of Information Management & Technology, Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust, Whipps Cross Road, London E11 1NR to do this.

New Environmental Information Regulations may be introduced as early as 2003. These will enable similar access to environmental information as under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.