The Department provides the Trust with a full range of legal services, including dealing with patient and third party requests for medical records, made under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Access to Health Records Act 1990. The Department deals with all litigation and Court work, such as Coroner’s Inquests. Advice is provided to the Trust on a wide range of matters, including healthcare law, property law, probate, commercial contracts, employment law and other aspects of the law relevant to the provision of healthcare services.
The Legal Services Manager is Sue Palmer, an experienced civil litigation Solicitor. Sue is supported by an assistant who supervises a team of administrators and volunteers.
The formation of the Trust's Legal Services team, in December 2011, centralised and improved the service provided to the Trust, the public, and external agencies.
Professional Paralegal qualifications, together with in-house training, have reduced external solicitor costs and improved performance.
Legal Services have received awards at the Trust's Celebrations of Success - 2014 Gold finalist, 2015 Non-clinical finalist & Volunteer winner.
We have trained a dedicated team of volunteers, without whom the department could not function. What improvements are planned for the future?
It is hoped that, with the support of the Trust, additional Paralegal qualifications may be obtained in order to further reduce external solicitor costs and enhance performance.