Deleting data uploaded to the Summary Care Record

The request was successful.

Dear Bradford PCT,

I would like to make further requests under the FOI Act.

For the purposes of the Act, the date of your receipt of my request will be 27th February.

South West Essex PCT’s opt-out form http://www.swessex.nhs.uk/content/file/S... states:

"I request that my personal data, or the personal data of a person under 16 for whom I am responsible, are not added to or are deleted from the NHS Summary Care Record database".

Their web site http://www.swessex.nhs.uk/healthrecords/ states:

"If you were to choose not to have a Summary Care Record, or would like to have one deleted, you will have to let your GP know by completing and returning an opt-out form available here."

(Patients who seek to have their uploaded data completely deleted (including data held on mirror servers) would not be seeking to have any data deleted from either the PDS or the sources of the SCR, namely the GP-held electronic health records and the hospital-held electronic health records.)

• Please could you explain the mechanism by which patients in your PCT area can get their uploaded SCR clinical data completely deleted. Please could you provide the necessary from, or a link to the form, that patients need to fill in and hand to their GP surgery to ensure this action.

• Please could you explain the mechanism by which the data gets deleted - that is, does the GP practice simply add the code "93C3" to the patient's GP-held electronic record (identical to opting out of the SCR creation) and this code automatically triggers the deletion of the SCR data? Or does the GP practice have to do anything else to ensure data is deleted?

• Please could you confirm whether your PCT would be given the details of patients who wish their SCR to be deleted by the GP practices.

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 27th March.

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 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

I forgot to add:

The Information Commissioner, on the subject of deleting a SCR, has stated:

"As far as the NHS consent arrangements are concerned, it is our understanding that within the current consent arrangements an individual patient can choose not to have a SCR at any time, even after it has been created."

Yours sincerely,

Dr Neil Bhatia

Booth Barbara, Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT)

1 Attachment

Please see attached:

<<Acknowledgement 2009.02.27.pdf>>

Barbara Booth
Information Governance Officer
Directorate of Performance and Information
Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT
Third Floor, Douglas Mill, Bowling Old Lane, Bradford BD5 7JR
Tel: 01274 237508
Fax: 01274 237453
e.mail [email address]

This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee only and may contain
confidential information, copyright material or views/opinions that do not
necessarily reflect those of Bradford and Airedale teaching Primary Care
Trust. If you receive this email by mistake please advise the sender
immediately. All should be aware that this email may be subject to public
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and that emails may
be monitored...

Booth Barbara, Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT)

2 Attachments

Please see attached.

<<Response.pdf>> <<SCR opt our form (3).pdf>>

Barbara Booth
Information Governance Officer
Directorate of Performance and Information
Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT
Third Floor, Douglas Mill, Bowling Old Lane, Bradford BD5 7JR
Tel: 01274 237508
Fax: 01274 237453
e.mail [email address]

This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee only and may contain
confidential information, copyright material or views/opinions that do not
necessarily reflect those of Bradford and Airedale teaching Primary Care
Trust. If you receive this email by mistake please advise the sender
immediately. All should be aware that this email may be subject to public
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and that emails may
be monitored...