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.enquiries (GATESHEAD HEALTH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

2 Attachments

Our reference: FoI 2018-19.195

 

Thank you for your request for information held by Gateshead Health NHS
Foundation Trust. 

 

You have requested:

 

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.

 

Your request was received on 22/08/2018, therefore you can expect a reply
by close of business on 20/09/2018 unless we need to contact you to
clarify your request or the balance of the public interest test needs to
be considered.

 

Please find attached a leaflet giving guidance on our procedure for
managing requests covered by FOIA.

 

 

Thank You

Shona Gillespie

Information Governance Support Officer | QE Gateshead

Trust HQ | Queen Elizabeth Hospital | Queen Elizabeth Avenue | Sheriff
Hill | Gateshead |NE9 6SX

T: 0191 445 3465 | E: [1][Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust request email] |
[2]www.qegateshead.nhs.uk

 

[3]logo-signature[1]

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this email
and any files transmitted with it is confidential and is intended solely
for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed.  If you are not the
intended recipient you must not copy, distribute, or take any action or
reliance upon it, please notify the sender of their error and delete.  Any
unauthorised disclosure of the information contained in this email is
strictly prohibited.

 

 

show quoted sections

Foi.enquiries (GATESHEAD HEALTH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Hello

 

Our reference: FoI 2018-19.195

 

We write further to your email of 22/08/2018 where you requested
information held by Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, as copied
below.

Request:

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.

 

 

Could you please clarify the scope of the complaints made to the Trust by
new parents – is this complaints made by new parent in relation to Bounty
or all complaints made by new parents?

 

Please note that until the clarification is received, your request will be
on hold and you will be notified of the new statutory deadline once that
information is provided.

 

If we do not receive clarification within 20 working days your request
will be considered to have lapsed. Under section 1(3) of the Freedom of
Information Act, a public authority need not comply with a request unless
any further information reasonably required to locate the information is
supplied.

 

Thank You

Shona Gillespie

Information Governance Support Officer | QE Gateshead

Trust HQ | Queen Elizabeth Hospital | Queen Elizabeth Avenue | Sheriff
Hill | Gateshead |NE9 6SX

T: 0191 445 3465 | E: [1][Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust request email] |
[2]www.qegateshead.nhs.uk

 

[3]logo-signature[1]

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this email
and any files transmitted with it is confidential and is intended solely
for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed.  If you are not the
intended recipient you must not copy, distribute, or take any action or
reliance upon it, please notify the sender of their error and delete.  Any
unauthorised disclosure of the information contained in this email is
strictly prohibited.

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Shona

To confirm, I am only requesting any complaints the hospital has received relating to Bounty.

Yours sincerely,

Sara Spary

Foi.enquiries (GATESHEAD HEALTH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Hello

 

Our reference: FoI 2018-19.195

 

Thank you for your email. Your request is being considered under the terms
of the Freedom of Information Act (2000).

Your clarification was received on 28/08/2018. Therefore, you can expect a
reply by 25/09/2018, unless we need to contact you to clarify your
request, or the balance of the public interest test needs to be
considered.

 

Kind regards

Shona Gillespie

Information Governance Support Officer | QE Gateshead

Trust HQ | Queen Elizabeth Hospital | Queen Elizabeth Avenue | Sheriff
Hill | Gateshead |NE9 6SX

T: 0191 445 3465 | E: [1][Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust request email] |
[2]www.qegateshead.nhs.uk

 

[3]logo-signature[1]

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this email
and any files transmitted with it is confidential and is intended solely
for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed.  If you are not the
intended recipient you must not copy, distribute, or take any action or
reliance upon it, please notify the sender of their error and delete.  Any
unauthorised disclosure of the information contained in this email is
strictly prohibited.

 

 

show quoted sections

Foi.enquiries (GATESHEAD HEALTH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Dear Miss Spary,

 

Our reference: FoI 2018-19.195

 

Thank you for your request for information of 22/08/2018, as copied below.
Your request has been considered under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

 

Your request and our response:

 

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.

The following clarification was received on 28/08/2018:

To confirm,  I am only requesting any complaints the hospital has received
relating to Bounty

 

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.

 

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust can confirm that it holds the
information requested, however the Trust believes that the requested
information may be exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) of FOIA
which applies where the release of information would prejudice the
commercial interests of any person (or organisation).

 

As section 43 is a qualified exemption, the Trust must consider whether it
would be in the public interest for this information to be disclosed,
however we have not yet reached a decision on the balance of the public
interest test in this case.

 

Under Section 10(3) of the Freedom of Information Act, the Trust is able
to extend the statutory time limit of 20 working days where the
information held may be exempt under a qualified exemption, and we require
more time to consider the balance of the public interest test.

 

We estimate that it will take an additional 13 working days in order to
reach a decision and therefore plan to provide you with a response by
12^th October 2018.

 

 

Your appeal rights

 

If you are not happy with the handling of your request, you have the right
to ask us to review our original decision. You can contact us by email at
[1][Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust request email]

Any complaint should be submitted within two months of the date of this
response. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any
future communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you have the
right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted by email at
[2][email address], or post to: Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

 

 

Thank You

Shona Gillespie

Information Governance Support Officer | QE Gateshead

Trust HQ | Queen Elizabeth Hospital | Queen Elizabeth Avenue | Sheriff
Hill | Gateshead |NE9 6SX

T: 0191 445 3465 | E: [3][Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust request email] |
[4]www.qegateshead.nhs.uk

 

[5]logo-signature[1]

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this email
and any files transmitted with it is confidential and is intended solely
for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed.  If you are not the
intended recipient you must not copy, distribute, or take any action or
reliance upon it, please notify the sender of their error and delete.  Any
unauthorised disclosure of the information contained in this email is
strictly prohibited.

 

show quoted sections

Foi.enquiries (GATESHEAD HEALTH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

2 Attachments

Dear Miss Spary,

 

Our reference: FoI 2018-19.195

 

Thank you for your request for information of 22/08/2018, as copied below.
Your request has been considered under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

 

Your request and our response:

 

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).

Please find attached a copy of the written agreement between Gateshead
Health NHS Foundation Trust and Bounty UK Limited.

 

Redactions have been to the agreement as this information has been
withheld from disclosure under the exemption in section 43(2) of FOIA
which applies where release of information would prejudice the commercial
interests of any person (or organisation).

Release of the requested information would reveal commercially sensitive
information of the supplier, and provide their competitors with valuable
intelligence to the detriment of our incumbent supplier. The disclosure
would also be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the Trust by
damaging its business reputation and the confidence that private sector
suppliers have in the Trust. As a result, it would be likely to adversely
affect the Trust’s ability to attract and secure best offers and income
generation schemes.

 

We recognise that there is a public interest in the transparency and
accountability of the Trust, however we do not consider that this interest
would be served by disclosing commercially sensitive contract information
of our suppliers. Furthermore, there is a strong public interest in
ensuring that there is no unwarranted prejudice to the commercial
interests of private companies. There is also a public interest in
ensuring that the Trust is able to maintain its business reputation and
the confidence that private sector suppliers have in the Trust, which is
essential to the Trust’s ability to deliver the best possible value for
money and continue to secure income from different sectors.

 

Having considered the public interest test, the Trust’s decision is
therefore to withhold specific sections of the agreement.

 

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).

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust can confirm that it holds the
information requested regarding the amount of money paid to the Trust by
Bounty UK Limited. However, this has been withheld from disclosure under
the exemption in section 43(2) as detailed above.

 

The Trust does not hold a record of how many new mothers have been
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?) 

The Trust does not have a specific policy regarding Bounty representatives
however the ward manager and team ensure that all Bounty representatives
maintain the respect and dignity of our mothers.

 

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

The following clarification was received on 28/08/2018:

To confirm,  I am only requesting any complaints the hospital has received
relating to Bounty

The Trust has received no complaints relating to Bounty in the 12 months
to date.

 

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.

 

We hope that you will find this response helpful.

 

 

Your appeal rights

 

If you are not happy with the handling of your request, you have the right
to ask us to review our original decision. You can contact us by email at
[1][Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust request email]

Any complaint should be submitted within two months of the date of this
response. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any
future communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you have the
right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted by email at
[2][email address], or post to: Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

 

 

Thank You

Shona Gillespie

Information Governance Support Officer | QE Gateshead

Trust HQ | Queen Elizabeth Hospital | Queen Elizabeth Avenue | Sheriff
Hill | Gateshead |NE9 6SX

T: 0191 445 3465 | E: [3][Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust request email] |
[4]www.qegateshead.nhs.uk

 

[5]logo-signature[1]

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this email
and any files transmitted with it is confidential and is intended solely
for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed.  If you are not the
intended recipient you must not copy, distribute, or take any action or
reliance upon it, please notify the sender of their error and delete.  Any
unauthorised disclosure of the information contained in this email is
strictly prohibited.

 

show quoted sections