§ 14. Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her policy for increasing the amount of information made available to the general public from her Department.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Department aims to provide the general public with a wide range of information relating to legislation, policy, patients' rights and other health advice. The Department is also playing a full part In the cross-departmental initiative on open government.
Furthermore, the Department is engaged in a number of initiatives to promote greater access to information by 762W national health service patients—including information on performance against patients charter standards, regional health information services and legislation to give patients access to health records held on them. The Department is currently consulting on draft guidance on freedom of speech for national health service employees.