Disclosure of HIV patient data
Dear Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust,
I have noted with interest today's developments concerning your loss of personal data and your new Chief Executive's comments that
"We have made repeated attempts over the past six months, most recently last week, to reach a settlement that recognised that errors were made but no harm arose, all of which have been rejected by the Information Commissioner’s Office".
As you will be aware I have made a previous (outstanding) request for the representations you have made to the ICO. Given you have indicated that you have made further representations/settlement offers outside of the scope of my earlier request, I would like to request any additional settlement offers/representations since the date of my last request. Please bear in mind you have chosen to disclose that you made such a settlement offer,whilst maintaining that "there was no loss of data".
I also note Mr Adcock's comment that
"We are not prepared to incur further costs and are therefore paying the ICO £260,000".
Please provide the total costs incurred in this matter so far.
Please provide the total costs paid to any external lawyers.
Please provide the name of any external source of legal advice.
Finally, given the significant public interest in understanding why you have decided to pay a fine you have publically suggested is unjust and previously strongly opposed paying, please disclose the full contents of all legal advice on this matter. This should also include the full thread of communications between BSUH and your external legal advisors.
Yours faithfully,
Ben Jones
Link: [1]File-List
Dear Ben Jones
I am writing to acknowledge your request for information under the Freedom
of Information (FOI) Act. Your request was received in our office on:
28/06/2012
We are considering your request and will reply more fully in due course.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, we have 20 working days in which to
respond.
Some information, however, might be withheld due to exemptions which are
allowed for by the Act. If this is the case, we will tell you that we have
withheld information and why.
If we can be of any further assistance to you in the meantime, please do
not hesitate to contact the Trust at: [BSUH request email]
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust will make every effort
to respond to your request if possible. Our main aim and priority,
however, is to provide the best care possible to our patients. Our Trust
will not respond to any requests which are designed to distract staff from
their responsibilities. We appreciate your understanding.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Office
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
This electronic message contains information from Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which may be privileged or confidential. The information is intended to be for the use of the individual(s) or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. If you have received this electronic message in error, please notify us immediately at [email address].
This Trust is committed to openness and transparency, and this commitment is supported by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Under the Act, any recorded information held by the Trust, including this message, unless legally exempt, may be subject to public disclosure.
Activity and use of the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust E-mail system is monitored to secure its effective operation and for other lawful business purposes. Communications using this system will also be monitored for viruses and other harmful material.
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01CD584A.63ECCD20
Link: [1]File-List
Response to FOIA Request from Mr Ben Jones dated 27 June 2012
Reference Number: FOI001467
Dear Mr Jones
We have received a request for information from you by email which is
dated 27 June 2012, a copy of which is attached for ease of reference. We
have treated your email as a request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 ("FOIA").
You have since been in contact with us regarding an identical earlier
request which was set out in an email dated 7 June 2012. We regret that we
cannot trace having received this email and we refer to the response sent
to you by Mr Gustafson in this connection on 5 July 2012.
Your request:
You refer to a report in The Register on 6 June 2012 via a link in your
request which refers to a statement made by Duncan Selbie who is quoted as
saying "We reported all of this voluntarily to the Information
Commissioner's Office, who told me last summer that this was not a case
worthy of a fine." You have requested, if this assurance was given in
writing, a copy of the relevant correspondence. If this assurance was
given verbally, you have asked for all recorded information held in this
area - such as notes/minutes of the meeting in which the assurance was
given and any internal mails/notes referencing this advice.
Our response:
On behalf of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust ("BSUH") I
am can confirm that BSUH holds information relating to this matter.
We enclose a copy of a contemporaneous note made at a meeting with the
Information Commissioner on 15 June 2012 in response to this request.
We consider that all other recorded information we hold in connection with
this request is exempt from disclosure on the basis that a claim to legal
professional privilege could be maintained pursuant to s42(1) of FOIA.
We have considered in all the circumstances of the case whether the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in
disclosing the information. We appreciate the arguments around
transparency in decision making by public authorities. However, in this
instance, we consider that the public interest in maintaining the
exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
The information we are withholding also contains personal data which is
exempt under s 40 (2), the disclosure of which would contravene the first
data protection principle. We do not consider that it would be within the
reasonable expectations of the individuals referred to in the requested
information that personal data about them would be disclosed.
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to an
internal review within BSUH. Please contact us at the address above
explaining what you would like us to review and including your reference
number. If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal
to the Information Commissioner, whose contact details are: Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF. Telephone: 01625 545 700.
Please note that any information provided by this Trust is for your
personal use and not for resale or use for profit in any way under the
Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005.
If you require clarification or if we can be of any further assistance to
you, please do not hesitate to contact us at: [BSUH request email]
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Office
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
This electronic message contains information from Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which may be privileged or confidential. The information is intended to be for the use of the individual(s) or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. If you have received this electronic message in error, please notify us immediately at [email address].
This Trust is committed to openness and transparency, and this commitment is supported by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Under the Act, any recorded information held by the Trust, including this message, unless legally exempt, may be subject to public disclosure.
Activity and use of the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust E-mail system is monitored to secure its effective operation and for other lawful business purposes. Communications using this system will also be monitored for viruses and other harmful material.
References
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Dear FOI,
You appear to be very confused with the status of my requests and are providing responses to the incorrect email addresses. You may find it beneficial to visit the whatdotheyknow website itself.
To clarify, I have made 3 requests in all.
Request one:
My first request was dated 03 June and titled "Sub Contractor details". You did not provide a reference number but responded to this request. I had some further queries whcih you have today answered, although you have provided todays response to the Request 2 thread/email address.
Request two:
On the 07 June I made a request titled "Advice from the ICO". You have today responded to this request, although provided the response to the email address given for Request 3 (ie the one I am now writing from). In relation to your response you have indicated that you have provided a "contemporaneous note made at a meeting with the
Information Commissioner on 15 June 2012". The note appears to be redacted in it's entirety - could you confirm this was your intention, as the text of your response implied you were providing this note, but with-holding other information under legal privelge?
Request 3
On the 27 June I made a request titled "Disclosure of HIV patient data". You acknowledged this request on 02 July 2012 but it remains unanswered. From what I can ascertain you have allocated this request reference number FOI001467.
I await your response and suggest you may wish to respond to each of the requests seperately to ensure clarity. If you could provide a telephone number I can call the office to discuss if this is easier?
Yours sincerely,
Ben Jones
Link: [1]File-List
Dear Mr. Jones,
Thank you for your email dated 16 July 2012.
We regret any 'confusion' associated with your Freedom of Information
requests and our subsequent responses. The Trust's current FOI database
associates one email address with each 'requestor'. Since your
organisation often submits many different requests and email queries from
the same requestor, yet from different email addresses this might help to
explain any confusion. After looking through our records however, it
would appear that this hasn't been the case.
For the avoidance of any doubt in the event that you make further requests
to the Trust, it would be helpful if, as part of your request, you tell us
which email address you would like us to respond to. FOIA requests may be
sent by you direct to [BSUH request email]. As you may be aware, we are not
obliged to deal with requests which appear on a website until we actually
receive them.
Request One:
The Trust received your FOI request dated 3-6-12, titled "Sub Contractor
details" on 6-6-12. An acknowledgement email with reference number
(FOI001448) was sent to you on 6-6-12 to the same email address used for
your request. The Trust response to your FOI request was sent to you on
5-7-12, again to the appropriate email address. All documents are
attached for your information.
Request Two:
We have looked through all available records and this FOI request was not
received by the Trust. We did however, initiate the request when you
emailed the Trust on 5-7-12 (FOI001485) seeking our response. Despite not
receiving this request, the Trust made every effort to respond
promptly. An acknowledgement of your request on 5-7-12 was made on the
same day to ascertain which request you were referring to, and a release
was sent to you on 16-7-12 (just 7 working days later). The release sent
to you on 16-7-12 mistakenly referred to your email dated "27 June". This
should have read "7 June" but in any event we attached a copy of the
relevant request for ease of reference. All documents are attached for
your information, including the document which you said was blank.
Request Three:
The Trust received your FOI request dated 27-6-12, titled "Disclosure of
HIV patient data" on 28-6-12. An acknowledgement email with reference
number (FOI001467) was sent to you on 2-7-12 to the same email address
used for your request. We calculate that a response to this request is
due to be provided on 26 July and we are working to this deadline.
Please note that any information provided by this Trust is for your
personal use and not for resale or use for profit in any way under the
Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005.
If you require clarification or if we can be of any further assistance to
you, please do not hesitate to contact us at: [BSUH request email]
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your enquiry, you have the
right to appeal. The address of our FOI Review Department is:
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
FOI Review
Central Information Unit - D Block
Brighton General Hospital
Elm Grove
Brighton BN2 3EW
If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of your appeal, you can
write to:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545700
We hope that you find the information provided helpful.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Office
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
This electronic message contains information from Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which may be privileged or confidential. The information is intended to be for the use of the individual(s) or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. If you have received this electronic message in error, please notify us immediately at [email address].
This Trust is committed to openness and transparency, and this commitment is supported by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Under the Act, any recorded information held by the Trust, including this message, unless legally exempt, may be subject to public disclosure.
Activity and use of the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust E-mail system is monitored to secure its effective operation and for other lawful business purposes. Communications using this system will also be monitored for viruses and other harmful material.
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01CD6A81.F0CB4070
Link: [1]File-List
Dear Ben Jones
Thank you for your recent request for information under the Freedom of
Information (FOI) Act 2000.
We are now in a position to respond to your request.
Please refer to the attached response document.
Please note that any information provided by this Trust is for your
personal use and not for resale or use for profit in any way under the
Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005.
If you require clarification or if we can be of any further assistance to
you, please do not hesitate to contact us at: [BSUH request email]
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your enquiry, you have the
right to appeal. The address of our FOI Review Department is:
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
FOI Review
Central Information Unit - D Block
Brighton General Hospital
Elm Grove
Brighton BN2 3EW
If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of your appeal, you can
write to:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545700
We hope that you find the information provided helpful.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Office
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
This electronic message contains information from Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which may be privileged or confidential. The information is intended to be for the use of the individual(s) or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. If you have received this electronic message in error, please notify us immediately at [email address].
This Trust is committed to openness and transparency, and this commitment is supported by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Under the Act, any recorded information held by the Trust, including this message, unless legally exempt, may be subject to public disclosure.
Activity and use of the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust E-mail system is monitored to secure its effective operation and for other lawful business purposes. Communications using this system will also be monitored for viruses and other harmful material.
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01CD6BE6.75836D50
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