NHS Trusts swamped by FoI requests

NHS Trusts swamped by FoI requests

NHS trusts have reported a steep increase in the number and complexity of Freedom Of Information (FOI) requests they are receiving, resulting in a 'significant workload'.

A new report by the NHS Confederation adds that this trend is likely to continue ‘as the public become increasingly familiar with the terms of the act, and in the run up to the general election’.

One NHS trust described the complexity and time-span of some FOI requests as ‘daunting’, adding that some clinical staff were forced to use their personal time.

NHS organizations received an average of 173 FOI requests in 2008, with the largest number of requests coming from journalists. One trust reported a 400 per cent increase in the number of requests over 2008.

Freedom of Information requests swamp NHS (PR Week, 10 June 2009)