Suspension of the accelerated SCR roll-out
Dear NHS East of England
I would like to make a request under the FOI Act regarding the suspension of the so-called "accelerated roll-out" of the Summary Care Record by PCTs within your area.
For the purposes of the Act, the date of your receipt of this request will be 21st April.
I understand that your SHA is one of five that are being backed by the Department of Health which has made money available for regionally-based Public Information Programmes (PIPs), on the proviso that the money must have been used by the end of March.
It has been announced that the Department of Health have agreed with the BMA that all uploading of records in areas subject to the recent accelerated roll-out will be stopped until GPs and patients have been properly consulted. This has been widely reported in the press:
http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/5833/...
http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?se...
http://web2.bma.org.uk/nrezine.nsf/wp/BS...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/health...
Please could you therefore kindly provide me with the following information:
• Please could you kindly provide any and all communications (email, fax, letter) that you have had with your PCTs as regards the advice that you are giving them regarding suspending any planned uploads to the SCR as a result of this announcement.
• Please could you confirm that the announcement is indeed applying to your SHA, namely that uploads to the Summary Care Record within PCTs (in your SHA) where the PIP has taken place under the "accelerated roll-out" have indeed been put on hold until further notice.
As per Section 4a of Part 1 of the FOI Act
( http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukp... ) I would like the information in question held at the time when my request is received (draft or otherwise), except that account may be taken of any amendment or deletion made between now and the latest time by which the information is to be communicated to me, being an amendment or deletion that would have been made regardless of the receipt of my request.
I would be grateful if you would be kind enough to send me the requested information promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth working day following the date of receipt of my request - that is by then end of the working day of 20th May.
If my request is denied in whole or in part, or specific items within the responses are withheld from disclosure, then you must justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act, as per Section 17 of the Act
( http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukp... ). Where you rely on a qualified exemption to withhold disclosure, you are obliged to consider the public interest in your decision and the refusal notice must explain not only which exemption applies and why, but also the public interest arguments addressed in reaching the decision.
I wish to receive the information by email; I believe such a request would be reasonable in these circumstances. As per Section 11 of Part 1 of the FOI Act ( http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukp... ) I would be grateful if you would "so far as reasonably practicable give effect to that preference"; if you determine that it is not reasonably practicable to comply with this preference then you are required by law to notify me of the reasons for your determination.
The “return address” (to which the information that I have requested be should be sent ) is the email address that this particular request originates from (i.e. ending in '@whatdotheyknow.com').
I would be grateful if you would kindly acknowledge receipt of this request as recommended by the ICO (“It would be good practice to acknowledge receipt of requests and to refer to the 20 working day time limit, so that applicants know their request is being dealt with”).
Thank you once again.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Neil Bhatia
Dear Dr Bhatia,
Thank you for your FOI request.
Thank you very much for your enquiry. Your request will be processed by
the FOI team and you may expect a response within 20 working days (20 May
2010). If you have any queries in the meantime please email
[NHS East of England request email].
Regards
Karen
Karen Fowle
Communications & FOI Officer
NHS East of England
Tel:01223 597 576
[mobile number]
Email: [email address]
Victoria House, Capital Park, Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire CB21 5XB
Dear Dr Bhatia,
Thank you for your recent FOI enquiry.
Please find attached a letter that was sent from NHS East of England to
all PCT Chief Executives dated 19 April 2010, which we hope answers all
your questions.
If you have any further queries or do not feel that your request has been
fully answered, please do not hesitate to get in touch via
[1][NHS East of England request email].
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your request for information
you have the right to ask for a review. If you remain dissatisfied you
may apply under the FOI Act to the Information Commissioner for a decision
on whether a request has been dealt with in accordance with Part I of the
Act. In these circumstances you may wish to write to the Information
Commissioner at FOI Complaints Resolution, Information Commissioner's
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Telephone: 01625 545700.
Kind Regards,
Karen
Karen Fowle
Communications & FOI Officer
NHS East of England
Tel:01223 597 576
[mobile number]
Email: [email address]
Victoria House, Capital Park, Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire CB21 5XB
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Gadawodd Dr Neil Bhatia anodiad ()
Information about the NHS Database / Summary Care Record can be found on my site:
www.summarycarerecord.info