Public Liaison Services
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
1st Floor, Nore Villa
Knockbracken Healthcare Park
Saintfield Road
Belfast BT8 8BH
T: (028) 9504 5888
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxx.xxx
9 August 2021
Our ref: FOI/25125
Lyndsay Eccleston
Email
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx Dear Ms Eccleston
RE: Neurology Recall
I refer to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request received 24 July 2021.
Please find below Trust response.
[Part 1]
1a) How many patients had an epidural blood patch performed by Dr
Michael Watt?
RESPONSE: Current information held by the Service has identified that 159
patients had an epidural blood patch performed by Dr Michael Watt. In previous
correspondence the number of patients identified was 156 patients. The
additional 3 patients identified is as a result of a review of IT systems.
b) Please provide a month by month, year by year breakdown.
RESPONSE: To undertake this exercise would necessitate a manual trawl of
records. We estimate that compliance with this request for information would
exceed the appropriate costs limit. Under Section 12 of the Freedom of
Information 2000, the limit has been specified as £450 and represents the
estimated cost of one or more persons spending 18 hours in determining whether
we hold the information, locating, retrieving and extracting this information.
2a) How many patients had an epidural blood patch performed by a
neurologist other than Dr Michael Watt?
RESPONSE: 34
b) Please provide a month by month, year by year breakdown.
RESPONSE: Please see attachment
3a) Since June 2017, how many blood patches have been performed?
RESPONSE: 58
b) How many of these have been performed by neurologists?
RESPONSE: 15
[Part 2]
To the best of your knowledge, how many blood patch patients performed
by Dr Watt are still living?
RESPONSE: The Belfast Trust is not aware of any patients who have died as a
result of having an epidural blood patch procedure.
[Part 3]
In 2017, you conducted an internal review of 200+ Epidural Blood Patch
patients, whereby the expert opinion of the world's leading expert was
sought who established that around 97% did not need the patch.
1. What date did this review begin?
2. How much did this review cost?
3. How much did the work of the world's leading expert cost?
4. Please provide a copy of that report, obviously after redacting personal
information.
RESPONSE: The Belfast Trust did not commission one of the World’s leading
experts to review the records of patients who had an epidural blood patch.
[Part 4]
In a 2018 board meeting, it emerged the Belfast Trust had commissioned
the work of management consultants; Veritas. This was due to be
completed later in 2018.
1. How much did that cost?
RESPONSE: Belfast Trust paid £59,495 (exclusive of VAT) to Verita Consulting
in relation to a Maintaining High Professional Standards investigation regarding
Dr Michael Watt.
2. Please provide a copy of that Report.
RESPONSE: In accordance with FOI Act, we cannot fulfil your request under
Section 40(2) – Personal Information Relating to a Third Party. This is deemed to
be personal information about another individual. Disclosure would breach one or
more of the principles of the Data Protection Act. The report contains personal
information relating to the doctor, whose identity is known.
If you are dissatisfied with how this request has been handled, you can seek a
review within the Trust in the first instance. You should write to: Public Liaison
Service, Belfast Health & Social Care Trust, Nore Villa, Knockbracken Health Care
Park, Saintfield Road, Belfast BT8 8BH or alternatively e-mail:
xxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxx.xxx within two months of the date of this response
and your complaint will be considered and a response provided usually within 20
working days of receipt.
Should you still be dissatisfied with the outcome, you can proceed to the second
review stage by contacting the Information Commissioner, The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF who will
undertake an independent review. It is important to note that if you refer any matter
to the Information Commissioner, you will need to show evidence of having gone
through the Trust’s review process to try to resolve the matter with the Trust in the
first instance.
If you have any queries regarding this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Clark Turner
Public Liaison Services Officer