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NHS England Customer Contact Centre

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Dear Richard Clarke,

Thank you for your correspondence dated 22 July 2020.

Your correspondence read:
           
“We are linked to various other advocacy groups throughout the west
midlands and we are looking at trying to get a national picture of how the
disabled are treated within hospitals and care homes. We are obviously not
looking to hear individuals private stories but are looking for statistics
such as which hospitals have specialist nurses for the disabled, the rate
of complaints amongst the disabled and any other relevant issues.”

NHS England is not, at this stage, able to proceed with your enquiry under
the (FOI) Act, as your request is unclear.

It may help if we first explain that the FOI Act gives you the right to
ask any public sector organisation for the recorded information they have
on any subject. You can ask for any information you think a public
authority may hold. The right only covers recorded information which
includes information held on computers, in emails and in printed or
handwritten documents.

Your request can be in the form of a question, rather than a request for
specific documents, but the authority does not have to answer your
question if this would mean creating new information or giving an opinion
or judgment that is not already recorded.

We would be grateful if you could clarify what recorded information you
are requesting from NHS England in relation to the treatment of patients
with disabilities and whether you are requesting information for England
or for the West Midlands. We would also be grateful if you could refine
the term ‘any other relevant issues’.

It may be helpful to consider the following advice from the Information
Commissioner’s Officer (ICO) on how to make an FOI request:

[1]https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/off...

Be as specific as possible about the information you want rather than
asking general questions. Try to include details such as dates and names
whenever you can.

As set out at Section 1(3) of the FOI Act, when further information is
required in order to identify and locate the information requested, and
the applicant has been informed, no further action is required until the
additional information has been received.

Please send your clarified request to [2][NHS England request email].

Once received, NHS England will write to acknowledge receipt of your
request and to provide you with a reference number. Please note that the
20 working day timeframe for complying with an FOI request does not
commence until the above information is provided.

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows:- PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [3][NHS England request email].

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information
Communications Team
Office of the Chairs, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [4][NHS England request email]
 

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Dear Richard Clarke,

Thank you for your communication dated 25th July 2020.

NHS England has assessed your communication as a request under the Freedom
of Information (FOI) Act 2000. As such, please be assured that your
request is being dealt with under the terms of the FOI Act and will be
answered within twenty working days. Your request has been allocated the
following reference number FOI-2007-1222809

For further information regarding the FOI Act, please refer to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website. For further information
regarding NHS England and the information it publishes please visit our
website.

If you have any queries about this request or wish to contact us again,
please email [1][NHS England request email] and the message will be
forwarded appropriately. Please remember to quote the above reference
number in any future communications.

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows: PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [2][NHS England request email].

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information
Communications
Office of the Chairs, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [3][NHS England request email]

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Dear Richard Clarke,

Thank you for your email below regarding Freedom of Information request
reference FOI-2007-1222809.

Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to your request.
NHS England is currently facing unprecedented challenges during the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Whilst we take our statutory duties in
respect of Freedom of Information seriously, we ask for your understanding
that, at this time, we have been unable to respond to your request within
the statutory timescale.

This is as a result of our need to prioritise our resources in dealing
with the pandemic, including the re-deployment of staff across the
organisation. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience that this
may cause and will, in all cases, aim to provide you with a response as
soon as possible.

Please be aware that you have the right to apply directly to the
Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner’s
Office (ICO) can be contacted at:

The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows:- PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [1][NHS England request email].

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information
Corporate Communications Team
Transformation and Corporate Operations Directorate

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [2][NHS England request email]

‘Health and high quality care for all, now and for future generations’

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