Bounty

The request was partially successful.

Dear Sirs,

I am writing to you to ask for information regarding Bounty representatives being given access to hospital wards.

In the 12 months to date (23.08.18) please confirm the following:

1) Whether the Trust currently is, or has been in the past 12 months, engaged in a contract or written agreement with Bounty UK Limited. If the Trust is currently engaged in a contract please attach a copy of it, making necessary redactions in order to comply with the Act. Please provide the date that the contract began and/ or ended. Please provide an overview of the terms of payment. (i.e. per mother visited / per photo pack purchased).

2) Please confirm how much money has been paid to the Trust by Bounty UK Limited in the past 12 months and how many new mothers are recorded as having been approached by Bounty representatives (if held).

3) Please provide details of the policies the Trust has in place with regards to protecting new mothers (i.e are representatives allowed on any ward at any time, or do they have restricted access? Are mothers given the option to opt out of being visited?)

4) Please confirm the number of complaints made to the Trust by new parents. If not time prohibitive, please provide details of the complaints.

I trust that the scope of my request is not so broad to be refused, but should you plan to reject it on those grounds please prioritise questions one and two.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Sara Spary

FOI Requests CGH, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Dear Sara,

Reference number: 5067

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), received on 22/08/2018. Your enquiry has been logged and forwarded to the appropriate department for action. Please note that the Act allows 20 full working days to provide a response although we will endeavour to do so before then. The deadline is calculated to be 20/09/2018.

If you have any queries regarding your request, please do not hesitate to contact me on this email address or 01206 745205.

Regards,

Freedom of Information Team

show quoted sections

FOI Requests CGH, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding information held by the East
Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust:

 

Your enquiry has been dealt with in accordance with the Trust’s Freedom of
Information Act 2000 Policy and Procedures. We are pleased to enclose the
information you requested:

 

In the 12 months to date (23.08.18) please confirm the following:

 

1         Whether the Trust currently is, or has been in the past 12
months, engaged in a contract or written agreement with Bounty UK Limited.
If the Trust is currently engaged in a contract please attach a copy of
it, making necessary redactions in order to comply with the Act. Please
provide the date that the contract began and/or ended. Please provide an
overview of the terms of payment. (i.e. per mother visited / per photo
pack purchased).

The start date for pack distribution and photography was 22/04/2018 and
will run for three years. The terms are per photo presentation/mum seen.

 

Sharing the full contract is exempt under Section 43(2): Commercial
Interests. It is considered that the release of such information would
place the Trust at a commercial disadvantage by restricting its
negotiating powers for future contracts.  The Trust recognises there is a
public interest in ensuring public money is spent wisely and that value
for money is achieved.

 

However, the Trust believes the disclosure of this information would
severely undermine its ability to achieve value for money from public
funding. In all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in
maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the
information.

 

2         Please confirm how much money has been paid to the Trust by
Bounty UK Limited in the past 12 months and how many new mothers are
recorded as having been approached by Bounty representatives (if held).

The money paid is exempt under Section 43(2): Commercial Interests.

 

The Trust does not hold any data on how many mothers were approached by
Bounty representatives.

 

3         Please provide details of the policies the Trust has in place
with regards to protecting new mothers (i.e. are representatives allowed
on any ward at any time, or do they have restricted access? Are mothers
given the option to opt out of being visited?) 

Both Ipswich and Colchester units have an opt out system using a special
card. Please find attached Bounty’s Bedside Code of Conduct for their
staff.

 

4         Please confirm the number of complaints made to the Trust by new
parents. If not time prohibitive, please provide details of the
complaints.

One complaint at Ipswich Hospital regarding commercial company visiting
vulnerable women after delivery at Ipswich Hospital.  No complaints from
Colchester Hospital

 

If you have any queries about the enclosed information please contact us,

 

The Public Sector Information Regulations provide a framework for public
sector organisations to licence the re-use of their information.  Please
request a re-use licence in order to re-use the information. Without the
necessary permission, you can breach our copyright.

 

Brief extracts of any material may be reproduced without our permission,
under the “fair dealing” provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988 for the purposes of research for non-commercial purposes; private
study; criticism; review and news reporting. All are subject to an
acknowledgement of ourselves as the copyright owner.  For guidance notes
on a range of copyright issues, see the Office of Public Sector
Information web site.

 

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request you should write to us. Please also contact us if you require a
copy of our Freedom of Information Act 2000 Complaints Procedure.  Any
complaints you wish to make in relation to Environmental Information
Regulations (EIR) requests, must be sent to us within 40 working days of
receipt of this letter.

 

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

 

The Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45

Website: [1]www.ico.org.uk

 

There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

We hope that we have been able to answer your query to your satisfaction
and that you find the information provided useful.

 

Regards,

 

Amy Witham

Information Governance Administrative Assistant

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Based at: Ipswich Hospital

Email: [2][email address]

Telephone: 01473 702878 ext 1878

 

References

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