Chase Farm Hospital
The Ridgeway
Enfield
Our reference: FOI/2009/98
Middx
EN2 8JL
2 June 2009
Telephone 0845 111 4000
Direct dial
020 8375 2270
S Y Raulea
By email to: request-11278-
[email address]
Dear S Raulea
Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
I am writing to you further to your request for information about:
Monitoring data for junior doctors hours
The Trust has examined the records held within the Medical Staffing
department. I am informed that all 46 of the Trust’s FY1 posts are EWTD
compliant (100%) and all are above the 75% acceptance rate for natural
breaks . Although reasons for the FY1s not being able to take a break were
very often not specified as requested, they were still recorded as such.
46 doctors have been given the opportunity to monitor their hours over a 14
day period, equating to 522 shifts, although that could be a high estimate as
not all doctors will have worked a weekend in the monitoring period. The FY1
at Chase Farm (Paediatrics ) has chosen not to return their diary sheet in the
last two monitoring rounds
If an individual doctor has less than 11 hours rest the doctor has a
responsibility to inform their line manager and make suitable arrangements for
compensatory rest by altering their normal work pattern the next day. The
Trust is reviewing the current EWTD policy to include more detail regarding
compensatory rest.
I enclose the following information.
• Package of information sent to junior doctors for January monitoring
round, comprising notes on completion of diary sheets, memo from
Medical Director, monitoring details declaration sheet, daily diary
sheets
• Memo to junior doctors regarding monitoring
Information from individual diary sheets is then input into a software package,
giving the following summary analysis:
• General Surgery Barnet
• General Medicine Barnet
• Paediatrics
Barnet
• General Surgery Chase Farm
These are then summarised into a return to the Department of Health which I
also enclose.
You asked for emails and correspondence. As you may be aware, under the
Freedom of Information Act, the Trust is required firstly to confirm it holds
information and secondly to disclose it unless there is a relevant exemption
under the Act that protects that information. I can confirm that there are a
number of emails between the Trust and the BMA (dealing with individual
doctors’ rotas) related to this monitoring round, also an exchange of emails
with a junior doctors’ representative specifically relating to the General
Medicine rota at Barnet Hospital.
One of the exemptions to the Act relates to disclosure which would breach
any of the eight Data Protection Principles. The first principle requires that
personal data should be processed fairly and lawfully. I consider that it would
be a breach of this principle to disclose information relating to the terms and
conditions of individual doctors and therefore I am not including the emails I
have referred to above.
I am sorry that I am not able to provide you with all the information you have
requested. If you wish to make a complaint about this decision, please let me
know. Alternatively you can contact the Information Commissioner at
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
01625 545 700
This information has been held by the Trust for its own purposes and is
published to you pursuant to the Trust’s obligations under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. Any further use or publication by you of this material is
at your own risk and it is your responsibility to check the accuracy and
appropriateness of the material for your purposes.
Finally, I enclose an evaluation form which I would be very grateful if you
could complete and return to me so that we can continually improve our
Publication Scheme and the way that we deal with requests for information
under the Freedom of Information Act.
Yours sincerely
Alison Macdonald
Board Secretary
