Overview

The freedom of information publication scheme

Our publication scheme is a guide to the information routinely published by the trust. The aim of this publication scheme is to explain what information the trust makes available to the public and, wherever possible, to provide an easy method of accessing this information.

Most of the information can be accessed via our website, or from linked websites. If you require information that is not available in this publication scheme, or if you require a hard copy of any documentation, please contact the Freedom of Information (FOI) team on email or write to:

Freedom of information team

Barts Health NHS Trust 

9th floor, 20 Churchill Place

London, E14 5HJ

Information available on our website is provided free of charge. Information provided by the FOI team electronically is free of charge. We may charge for print copies and postage.

The information we publish or provide under FOI is the copyright of Barts Health NHS Trust (unless stated otherwise). You may re-use the information in accordance with the Open Government Licence: For information which is not copyright to Barts Health NHS Trust e.g. external websites, please contact the named party directly.

Who we are and what we do

How we fit into the NHS structure

The NHS healthcare system is explained on the Department of Health and Social Care website.

The About us section of our website provides information about our role and responsibilities in the local community.

Organisational structure

The trust was established on 1 April 2012 following the merger of Barts and the London NHS Trust, Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust and Newham University Hospital NHS Trust. Read more about our history and predecessor organisations on Our background and history page.

The trust operates from five main hospital sites as well as other sites. You can read more about our sites on Our hospitals page.

Details of our Trust board and senior management teams can be found on Our board section of the website.

The corporate governance manual [pdf] 2MB outlines our structure and governance model.

Our partners

We work with a broad range of organisations across our communities to ensure that the services we provide are of the highest quality and meet local needs. These include local councils, clinical commissioning groups, GPs, charities and others.

Please see the following pages for more information: Our communities, GPs and health partners.

Please see our Annual reports for a list of related parties with which we work, including commissioners and other providers.

Below is a list of other key organisations which we work in partnership with.

Research

Local authorities

NHS/healthcare organisations     

Others

Our Private Finance Initiative (PFI Partners)

Meetings with pharmaceutical companies and other medical suppliers  

The Trust’s commercial representatives policy [pdf] 907KB requires all visitors attending any of our sites to pre-register their visit through the Medical Industry Accreditation Scheme. Failure of representatives to pre-register will mean that the representative is denied access.  

Senior staff and management board members

Names, responsibilities and biographical details of our most senior members of staff can be found on our board section of the website and in our annual reports.

The corporate governance manual [pdf] 2MB detailing our structure and governance model can be downloaded from the Key documents page.

Location and contact details for all public facing departments

A list of our clinical departments can be found on our services page.

Information on how to contact our other public-facing departments, including appointments, complaints, PALS, FOI, health records and media relations is available on the Contact us page.

What we spend and how we spend it

Financial statements, budgets and variance reports

A copy of the annual statement of accounts can be found on the Annual reports page.

The Trust publishes a regular performance report which can be downloaded from our Board meetings page.

The Trust publishes a monthly list of expenditure over £25,000 which can be downloaded from our Key documents page.

Financial audit report

The Trust’s external auditors are responsible for the audit of the Trust’s annual financial accounts and will review the Trust’s arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources. Their opinions form part of the Trust’s Annual report and accounts. The Annual report can be downloaded from our Annual reports page. 

Capital programme

Information about our capital programmes can be found in the papers on the Board meetings page and our Delivering our vision page.

Staff and board members’ allowances and expenses

Executive pay is included in the Annual report and can be downloaded from the Annual reports page.

Please contact the FOI team for further information.

Staff pay and grading structure

Staff pay and grading structures are those set nationally within the agenda for Change framework and the NHS Employers’ Medical staff scales.

The Trust publishes information on the gender pay gap and other equality measures in our Inclusion Matters: equality information report. This report can be downloaded from the Equality, diversity and inclusion page.

Funding (including endowment funds)

The Trust receives most of its funds as income from its commissioners. Find out more about our funding in our Annual reports and accounts. The Annual report can be downloaded from our Annual reports page.

Charitable funds/endowment income are administered separately from other capital and revenue funds by Barts Charity.

Procurement and tendering processes

The Trust outlines its procurement and tendering processes in the Standing Orders and SFIs. These can be downloaded from our Key documents page.

Details of contracts currently being tendered

The Trust advertises contracts currently being tendered through Protactis Tender Portal “Due North”.

List and value of contracts awarded

The Trust publishes contracts awarded on Contract Finder.

Contracts above the OJEU limit are published in accordance with OJEU rules on Tenders Electronic Daily (TED).

What our priorities are and how we are doing

Annual report

Our Annual Report and Accounts and Quality Accounts can be downloaded from our Annual reports page. 

Annual business and/or commissioning plan

Our Annual reports and Quality accounts give an overview of our achievements and plans for the coming year. The reports can be downloaded from our Annual reports page. 

Targets, aims and objectives

Our WeCare values shape everything that we do, every single day. They are visible in every interaction we have with each other, our patients, their families and our partners. Read more on Our vision and values page.

We are committed to delivering world-class healthcare and to ensuring the Trust remains fit to do so both now and in the future. Read more about it on our Sustainability page.

Our strategies

Our key strategies are published on our Delivering our vision page.

Performance against targets (KPI)/performance framework/ performance management information

Performance reports are regularly published with our Board papers, and can be accessed via our Board meetings page.

Quality accounts are the annual reports to the public from providers of NHS healthcare services. They provide additional accountability about the quality of an organisation's services. The reports can be downloaded from our Annual reports page. 

A summary of our performance is available on the How we are doing page.

Reports by regulatory organisations e.g. Care Quality Commission and NHS England

Our Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating and reports can be accessed via the CQC website.

Reports can also be found on NHS England & Improvement’s website.

Audit reports delivered at board/governing body level

The external auditor’s report may be viewed in the Annual accounts which can be downloaded from the Annual reports page.

The Annual audit letter is published in Trust Board meeting papers each Autumn – this can be requested from the FOI team.

Service user surveys

The Trust uses the Friends and Family test (FFT) to give patients an opportunity to feed back on the care they have received, and to state whether or not they would recommend the ward or department to friends or family if they needed similar treatment. Staff are invited to participate in the NHS Staff Survey. The results are regularly reported in Performance reports to the Trust Board and can be accessed via the Board meetings page.

The Trust also participates in the National Patient Survey programme set by the CQC. The findings of these surveys can be accessed on the CQC website.

Privacy Impact Assessments (in full or summary format)

For information about Data Protection Impact Assessments, please see our Privacy notice and contact the FOI team for further information.

Our policies and procedures

Policies and procedures

Policies and procedures can be requested from the FOI team.

Equality and diversity policies and equality scheme

We serve one of the most diverse populations in the country, and we're committed to eliminating discrimination, valuing diversity and promoting equality of opportunity to build and sustain an inclusive environment to deliver and receive safe and compassionate care. Read more on our Equality, diversity and inclusion page.

Policies and procedures can be requested from the FOI team.

Standing orders, financial procedures / instructions

The Standing Orders and SFIs can be downloaded from our Key documents page.

Complaints and other customer service policies and procedures

For information about how to make a complaint, please see our Complaints page.

Data protection / records management / Caldicott Guardian

The Caldicott Guardian for Barts Health NHS Trust is: Dr Anita Sanghi  FRCOG, MD, MA (clinical education), Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist and Divisional Director, Womens’ and Childrens’ Division, The Royal London Hospital, London E1 1BB. She can be contacted via telephone at: 020 3416 5000

The Trust’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted via email.

The Trust’s Records Management department is based at 20 Churchill Place and Mile End Hospital. They can be contacted via email.

Information about the Health Records management for each site is available on our website via the Health Records page.

Barts Health NHS Trust Archives retains a small proportion of the records created by the Trust (and by its predecessor authorities) for legal, financial and historical purposes. Further information about and contacts for the Trust Archives can be found here.

Estate management

Annual hospital estates and facilities statistics are published by NHS Digital in the Estates Return Information Collection (ERIC).

Charging regimes and policies

Charging regimes in place within Barts Health NHS Trust include:

  • Paying patients, including private patients and overseas visitors
  • Surgical appliances (national tariff)
  • NHS prescriptions (national tariff)
  • Providing hardcopy documents requested under FOI
  • Car parking
  • Patient entertainment
  • Refreshments

Fees may vary. Please contact relevant service for further information.

Lists and registers

Any information the authority is currently legally required to hold in publically available registers. For extracts from these registers please contact the FOI team.

List of main contractors / suppliers

Information about spend over £25,000 can be downloaded from our Key documents page.

Asset registers

For extracts from these registers please contact the FOI team.

CCTV

Close circuit television (CCTV) is in use across all of the Trust’s estate. 

Any register of interest kept in the authority

Please enquire with the FOI team.

For archival material, please see the Barts Health archive page and browse the online catalogue.

Register of gifts and hospitality provided to board members and senior personnel

The Register of Gifts and Hospitality is published and can be downloaded from our Key documents page.

Disclosure log

The Trust does not currently operate a Freedom of Information disclosure log.

The services we offer

Clinical services provided and/or commissioned

A list of our clinical departments can be found on Our services page.

Non-clinical services

The Trust provides interpretation and translation for patients whose do not speak English as a first language, speak British Sign Language (BSL) or have learning difficulties. Information about our service is provided on our Interpreting services page.

The Trust offers religious, spiritual and pastoral care for our patients and visitors. Please see our Chaplaincy page for more information.

Patient transport is operated in-house and available for eligible patients. For more information please see our Transport page.

Services for which the authority is entitled to recover a fee together with those fees

Charging regimes in place within Barts Health NHS Trust include:

  • Paying patients, including private patients and overseas visitors
  • Surgical appliances (national tariff)
  • NHS prescriptions (national tariff)
  • Providing hardcopy documents requested under FOI
  • Car parking
  • Patient entertainment
  • Refreshments

Fees may vary. Please contact the relevant service for further information.

Patient information leaflets and other booklets and newsletters

You can access information about procedures and medical conditions via our Patient information leaflets page.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

Information about PALS and how to contact them is available on our Advice and support page.

Advice and guidance

The Trust provides advice and guidance on coming to hospital for an appointment or admission on our Patient and Visitors page.

News, guidance and advice on news topics is published on our News page as well as on social media, for example, Twitter.