Staff Confidentiality Agreements and Related Disciplinary Actions

The request was successful.

Dear Sir,

I would like to request the following information about your organisation's staff confidentiality agreements and related disciplinary actions:

1. Copies of all confidentiality clauses, agreements or policies that staff are required to abide by. Please include any non-standard clauses which apply to particular groups of staff, or individuals. I am expecting the release of any relevant standard clauses contained within employment contracts as well as relevant policies such as your whistle-blowing policy, and any rules guiding staff participation in online discussion, blogging and social networking sites.

2. The number of times staff members have faced disciplinary actions or proceedings as a result of breaching these confidentiality agreements, policies and clauses.

3. A listing of these disciplinary actions broken down by the date and type of disciplinary action taken (eg verbal warning, demotion, loss of benefit, etc)

4. The number of staff dismissed as a result of breaching or infringing confidentiality agreements.

5. Of those i) disciplined and ii) dismissed - How many had a defence of whistleblowing?

I would like this data annually for most recent three year period (either calendar or financial depending on how you record data). I would like the response to incorporate data relating to individuals who are not directly employed by the trust such as agency staff.

With respect to policies clauses and agreements only those currently in-force are being requested.

I would like to clarify that I am only seeking policies etc. relating to the staff-employer relationship ie. the rules staff agree to follow as individuals. I am not asking the release of trust policies intended to maintain patient confidentiality.

If there are problems collecting this data then under the duty which section 16 of the freedom of information act puts on public bodies to provide advice and assistance I would be grateful if you could provide me with the following meta data on how this information is recorded:

• the computer or records management system that is used to store this data

• what fields are contained in the database

I would prefer to receive this information, electronically, via the WhatDoTheyKnow.com email address I have provided. If one part of this request can be answered sooner than others, please send that information first followed by any subsequent data. If you need any clarification of this request please feel free to email me. If FOI requests of a similar nature have already been asked could you please include your responses to those requests.

In order to save costs and identify the issues at an early stage, I would like to express my view that the following freedom of information act exemptions are not applicable to the information I am requesting:

s. 41 Confidentiality
There can be no confidentiality issue arising from the provision of simple statistics since the numbers of disciplinary actions and of their outcomes would not constitute confidential information under the threshold test set out in Coco v. Clarke [1969 RPC 41] and subsequent case law (Lion Laboratories [1985] QB 526, Cream Holdings v. Banerjee [2004] 4 All ER 617 and London Transport v. The Mayor of London [2001] EWCA 1491). The entire freedom of information regime was brought in so that governance issues should become public, and the public interest cannot be thwarted by claiming confidence where no confidence properly attaches. The NHS public authority has a duty to consult with all employees subject to disciplinary actions, and ask whether they would consent to their information (personal details) being made public. Consent is a complete defence to any claim by the NHS authority in confidence.

s. 40 Personal information
The numbers are not sufficiently relatable to any living individual for any data protection right to subsist. The NHS public authority has a duty to ask those employees subject to disciplinary process whether they consent to their personal information being released.

I would be grateful if you could reply to this email confirming you received this request. I understand that, according to the freedom of information act, I am entitled to a response within 20 working days.

Regards,

Heather Brooke

FOI (BNHFT), Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Brooke

Please find attached a formal acknowledgement to your recent FOI request.

Regards

Ashley Thomas

Ashley Thomas

Freedom of Information Officer

Basingstoke & North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust

Aldermaston Road

Basingstoke

Hampshire RG24 9NA

Tel: 01256 473202 Ext5412

Fax: 01256 313073

e-mail 1: [1][email address]

e-mail 2: [2][Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust request email]

[3]www.northhampshire.nhs.uk

Disclaimer - August 27, 2009

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are
addressed. Any views or opinions expressed are those of the author and do
not represent the views of the Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS
Foundation Trust unless otherwise explicitly stated. The information
contained in this e-mail may be subject to public disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Unless the Information is legally exempt
from disclosure, the confidentiality of this e-mail and your reply cannot
be guaranteed.

References

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FOI (BNHFT), Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust

3 Attachments

Dear Ms Brooke

Please find attached a formal response to your recent FOI request and also
the documents referred to therein.

Regards

Ashley Thomas

Ashley Thomas

Freedom of Information Officer

Basingstoke & North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust

Aldermaston Road

Basingstoke

Hampshire RG24 9NA

Tel: 01256 473202 Ext5412

Fax: 01256 313073

e-mail 1: [1][email address]

e-mail 2: [2][Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust request email]

[3]www.northhampshire.nhs.uk

Disclaimer - September 18, 2009

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are
addressed. Any views or opinions expressed are those of the author and do
not represent the views of the Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS
Foundation Trust unless otherwise explicitly stated. The information
contained in this e-mail may be subject to public disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Unless the Information is legally exempt
from disclosure, the confidentiality of this e-mail and your reply cannot
be guaranteed.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
file:///tmp/BLOCKED::mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust request email]
file:///tmp/BLOCKED::mailto:[Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust request email]
3. blocked::http://www.northhampshire.nhs.uk/
http://www.northhampshire.nhs.uk/
file:///tmp/BLOCKED::blocked::http:/www.northhampshire.nhs.uk/