Declarations of Interest

Please click on 'Declarations of Interest' in the Related Links menu on the left or on the link below:

Declarations of Interest

Advice for Wirral University Teaching Hospital staff:

WUTH staff are reminded of the ‘Managing Conflicts of Interest Policy’ in place at WUTH. The areas of the policy that need to be highlighted are:

• The policy applies to all employees of the Trust. This includes bank and agency staff, honorary staff, non-executive directors, governors and contractors.

• The Policy brings together the Trust policies currently in place relating to Conflict and Declaration of Interests; Gifts and Hospitality; and Sponsorship:
  • Introduces consistent principles and rules
  • Provides simple advice about what to do in common situations
  • Supports good judgement about how to approach and manage interests
    
    
• All decision making* staff should identify and declare material interests at the earliest opportunity (and in any event within 28 days). *Defined in policy.

Staff are required to give their consent for payments they receive from the pharmaceutical industry to be disclosed as part of the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Disclosure UK initiative. Further information about the scheme can be found on the ABPI website which can be accessed here. 

GIFTS:

• Staff should not accept gifts that may affect, or be seen to affect, their professional judgement
  • Gifts from suppliers or contractors:
  • Gifts from suppliers or contractors doing business (or likely to do business) with the Trust should be declined, whatever their value.
  • Low cost branded promotional aids such as pens or post-it notes may, however, be accepted where they are under the value of £6 in total, and need not be declared.

• Gifts from other sources (e.g. patients, families, service users):
  
  • Staff should not ask for any gifts.
  • Modest gifts accepted under a value of £50 do not need to be declared.
  • Gifts of cash and vouchers to individuals should always be declined. Should the person providing the gift refuse its return, the gift should be accepted on behalf of the Trust Charity as a donation and passed to the Charity Office and recorded as a donation.
  • Gifts valued at over £50 should be treated with caution and only be accepted on behalf of the Trust not in a personal capacity. These should be declared by staff. If appropriate the gift should be passed to the Charity Office and recorded as a donation for raffle or other such fundraising.
  • Multiple gifts from the same source over a 12 month period should be treated in the same way as single gifts over £50 where the cumulative value exceeds £50.
  • A common sense approach should be applied to the valuing of gifts (using an actual amount, if known, or an estimate that a reasonable person would make as to its value).

The Policy can be found on the Policies and Procedures page of the staff website.