Solicitor information requests

All Solicitor requests for information

Please note that as an Ambulance Service, our records are based on the incidents we attend and NOT a patient's name or personal details. Patient details are helpful to confirm a clinical record, but to promptly locate the record that you have requested, we require accurate incident details.

To ensure that requests, correspondence, cover letters for fees etc are received by the correct person and in a timely manner, please address such documents to the Investigations Co-ordinator at the correct address as detailed below.

Where the incident occurred in Kent, please forward all solicitor requests for information to:

Investigations Coordinator

Risk & Safety Department

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Kent Headquarters

Heath Road

Coxheath

Maidstone

ME17 4BG

Where the incident occurred in Sussex or Surrey, please forward all solicitor requests for information to:

Investigations Coordinator

Risk & Safety Department

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Lewes Headquarters

40-42 Friars Walk

Lewes

BN7 2XW

Solicitor requests for medical records

When applying for a copy of medical records or any other personal information, please provide the following within your application:

The time, date and exact location of the incident
The name of the hospital the patient was conveyed to (where appropriate)
The patient's name
Your client's name
A written form of authority signed by the patient*
The appropriate fee**. Cheques should be made payable to 'South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust' and addressed to the Investigations Coordinator.

We will be unable to process any solicitor requests for information where the details outlined above, and the relevant fee, are not received with your application.

Solicitor requests for questionnaires / statements

The completion of statements / questionnaires (completed independently by members of staff) can be arranged however please note:

Participation is at the individual member of staff’s discretion
A fee of £50.00 will be payable per statement / questionnaire
Payment will be required in advance (where it has been confirmed that the member(s) of staff has/have agreed to participate)

Solicitor interviews with members of staff

Interviews with members of staff can be arranged however please note:

Participation is at the individual member of staff’s discretion
Availability is subject to operational pressures and interviews can be cancelled at short notice (or cut short) where the members of staff are required for emergency deployment
All interviews will be conducted at staff's base ambulance station (or other location convenient to the member of staff)
A standing fee of £100 will be payable for the first hour followed by £50 for each additional hour (or pro rata to nearest 15 minutes) per member of staff being interviewed
Payment will be required in advance of the interview (where the member(s) of staff has agreed to participate)

Solicitor requests where SECAmb is not the Interested Party

Where information is sought when the Trust is not an Interested Party, please forward your request to the following:

For information requests where your client is a member of staff and you are seeking their personal information, please forward your request to:

Human Resources Department

South East Coast Ambulance Service

The Horseshoe

Banstead

Surrey

SM7 2AS

For more information where your client is a member of staff and you are seeking their payroll or earnings information, please forward your request to:

Finance Department

South East Coast Ambulance Service

The Horseshoe

Banstead

Surrey

SM7 2AS

*Where you are acting for a party other than the patient, we will be unable to provide you with any patient specific information without the signed consent of the patient. Please contact the patient, their solicitor or representative to obtain this before making your request for information.

** As per the Data Protection Act 1998 (Fees and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2001 the fee scale for the provision of patient health records is between £10 (for computer records) and £50 (for copies of manual records or a mixture of manual and computer records). Each request for information will be accessed on a case-by-case basis, where the published fee is not appropriate to the amount or format of information being requested the applicant will be contacted in writing to confirm the requisite amount. The South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust reserves the right to adjust the published fees (within the fee scale as set out in Fees and Miscellaneous Provisions Regulations) at any time and without warning.