Documentation and correspondence regarding the removal of references to NAAS pods in the BNF treatment of poisonings page

The request was successful.

Dear National Institute for Health and Care Excellence,

Between 22-01-29 and today(22-02-21), the BNF webpage page(and presumably subsequent hardcopy) regarding the treatment of poisonings has been edited to remove a paragraph begining "('NAAS pods') containing pralidoxime chloride can be obtained through the Ambulance Service from the National Blood Service".

I would like to request:
- The document immediatly prior to this change.
- Any metadata assosciated with this change(for example descriptions of the change in your CMS or information management system), Especially the date and time the change was made.
- Any correspondence regarding this change, such as requests for it to be made, discussion of the change, etc.
- Any minuites of meetings regarding the change.

Yours faithfully,

Ada Cable

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

1 Attachment

Dear Ada,

 

Reference No: EH-321345-C7R3S4

                                                                                                         

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for contacting the National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence (NICE) with your request, sent to our office on 21 February
2022, in which you asked for the following information regarding the
removal of references to NAAS pods in the BNF treatment of poisonings
page.

Between 22-01-29 and today (22-02-21), the BNF webpage page (and
presumably subsequent hardcopy) regarding the treatment of poisonings has
been edited to remove a paragraph beginning "('NAAS pods') containing
pralidoxime chloride can be obtained through the Ambulance Service from
the National Blood Service".

I would like to request:
1. The document immediately prior to this change.
2. Any metadata associated with this change (for example descriptions of
the change in your CMS or information management system), Especially the
date and time the change was made.
3. Any correspondence regarding this change, such as requests for it to be
made, discussion of the change, etc.
4. Any minutes of meetings regarding the change.

 

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject
to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party. In some circumstances we may be unable to achieve this deadline. If
this is likely you will be informed and given a revised time-scale at the
earliest opportunity.

 

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request. If this is the case you will be informed and
the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment
from you. If you chose not to make a payment then your request will remain
unanswered.

 

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
NICE.

 

Yours sincerely,

Heather

 

Communications Executive (Enquiries)

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Level 1A, City Tower | Piccadilly Plaza | Manchester | M1 4BT | United
Kingdom

Tel: 44 (0)300 323 0141

Web: [1]www.nice.org.uk 

 

[2]How NICE is supporting the health and care system throughout the
pandemic by continually updating our COVID-19 guidelines

 

show quoted sections

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

1 Attachment

Dear Ada,

 

Reference No: EH-321345-C7R3S4

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Thank you for contacting the National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence (NICE) with your request for information, sent to our office on
21 February 2022, in which you asked for the following information
regarding the removal of references to NAAS pods in the BNF page on the
treatment of poisonings.

 

Between 22-01-29 and today (22-02-21), the BNF webpage page (and
presumably subsequent hardcopy) regarding the treatment of poisonings has
been edited to remove a paragraph beginning "('NAAS pods') containing
pralidoxime chloride can be obtained through the Ambulance Service from
the National Blood Service".

I would like to request:

 1. The document immediately prior to this change.
 2. Any metadata associated with this change (for example descriptions of
the change in your CMS or information management system), Especially
the date and time the change was made.
 3. Any correspondence regarding this change, such as requests for it to
be made, discussion of the change, etc
 4. Any minutes of meetings regarding the change.

 

The Freedom of Information Act relates to recorded information held by a
public authority at the time of the request. I have addressed each of your
questions in turn.

 

 1. The document immediately prior to this change.

 

We do not hold this information. The BNF is published jointly by the
British Medical Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. While we
host the BNF on our website, we are not responsible for its content and so
you may wish to [1]contact the BNF directly.

 

 2. Any metadata associated with this change (for example descriptions of
the change in your CMS or information management system), Especially
the date and time the change was made.

 

We do not hold this information. The BNF is published jointly by the
British Medical Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. While we
host the BNF on our website, we are not responsible for its content and so
you may wish to [2]contact the BNF directly.

 

 3. Any correspondence regarding this change, such as requests for it to
be made, discussion of the change, etc.

 

The UK Health Security Agency wrote to NICE to request that the treatment
summary on poisoning, emergency treatment in the BNF be amended. The
correspondence was forwarded to the BNF to action. This correspondence
explained the reasoning behind the request, and we consider it to be
exempt from disclosure under section 24(1) of the Freedom of Information
Act 2000.

 

Section 24(1) provides that information is exempt from disclosure if
exemption from section 1(1)(b) is required for the purposes of
safeguarding national security. It is a qualified exemption and I have
considered whether the balance of the public interest favours releasing or
withholding this information.

 

In favour of releasing the information that you have requested, we
acknowledge that it is in the interest of the public generally that
information about medicines be put into the public domain to promote
openness and transparency, and the BNF aims to provide prescribers,
pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals with sound up-to-date
information about the use of medicines.

 

However, there is also a public interest in NICE protecting national
security and having reviewed the requested material, we are concerned that
disclosure, if used in conjunction with other information already in the
public domain, could potentially adversely impact on the UK’s security. We
have therefore concluded that withholding the requested material serves
the public interest better than release in this instance.

 

 4. Any minutes of meetings regarding the change.

 

Below is an extract from the minutes of the quarterly review meeting
between NICE and the BNF which took place on 24 January 2022.

 

14.   XX asked what the outcome was of the query from UK Health Security
Agency. XX confirmed that this has been resolved, as BNF have removed the
relevant evidence but have kept in the clinical recommendations of dosing.

 

The initials of those who attended the meeting have been redacted from the
above extract as we believe this information to be exempt from disclosure
under section 40(2) and (3A) of the FOIA.

 

Section 40(2) exempts third party personal data (i.e. personal data of
anyone other than the applicant) from disclosure if disclosure would
breach any one of the data protection principles (section 40(3A)). The
data protection principles are provided in Article 5 of the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR). Principle 1(a) states that personal data
must be ‘processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in
relation to the data subject’.

 

Releasing personal information in response to an FOI request is classed as
‘processing’ and can only be done if there is a lawful basis to do so. The
lawful bases are outlined in Article 6 of the GDPR. Only (a) consent and
(f) legitimate interests are relevant to disclosure under FOIA and are
considered below.

 

On basis a, we do not have explicit consent for the disclosure of the
third parties’ personal data.

 

While section 40(2) and (3A) is an absolute exemption, and thus not
subject to the public interest test, a balancing exercise is required to
weigh up the rights and interests of the data subject against the
legitimate interests of disclosure, basis f. We do not believe that the
legitimate interests in disclosure outweigh the interests or fundamental
rights and freedoms of the data subjects. Disclosure would therefore
breach data protection principle (a), which requires personal data to be
processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the
data subjects. As such, section 40(2) and (3A) of the FOIA is engaged and
it is unlawful for NICE to disclose this information.

 

If you have any questions on this response you are welcome to contact the
enquiry handling team at [3][NICE request email].

 

If you are unhappy with this response and want an internal review of how
we handled your request, you must write to us within 40 working days of
our response. Send your request to: Associate Director, Corporate Office,
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2nd Floor, 2 Redman
Place, London, E20 1JQ or email: [4][email address]. When we
receive your request we will send you an acknowledgement within 5 working
days.

 

The Associate Director, Corporate Office, will review your complaint and
send you a full reply usually within 20 working days. If you are
dissatisfied with the outcome of this review, you can apply directly to
the Information Commissioner for a decision at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9
5AF.

 

Kind regards,

 

Heather

 

Communications executive

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Level 1A, City Tower | Piccadilly Plaza | Manchester | M1 4BT | United
Kingdom

Tel: 44 (0)300 323 0141

Web: [5]www.nice.org.uk 

 

[6]How NICE is supporting the health and care system throughout the
pandemic by continually updating our COVID-19 guidelines

 

From: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
Sent: 23 February 2022 11:52
To: [7][FOI #835335 email]
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Documentation and
correspondence regarding the removal of references to NAAS pods in the BNF
treatment of poisonings page (Enq ref: EH-321345-C7R3S4)

 

Dear Ada,

 

Reference No: EH-321345-C7R3S4

                                                                                                         

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for contacting the National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence (NICE) with your request, sent to our office on 21 February
2022, in which you asked for the following information regarding the
removal of references to NAAS pods in the BNF treatment of poisonings
page.

Between 22-01-29 and today (22-02-21), the BNF webpage page (and
presumably subsequent hardcopy) regarding the treatment of poisonings has
been edited to remove a paragraph beginning "('NAAS pods') containing
pralidoxime chloride can be obtained through the Ambulance Service from
the National Blood Service".

I would like to request:
1. The document immediately prior to this change.
2. Any metadata associated with this change (for example descriptions of
the change in your CMS or information management system), Especially the
date and time the change was made.
3. Any correspondence regarding this change, such as requests for it to be
made, discussion of the change, etc.
4. Any minutes of meetings regarding the change.

 

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject
to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party. In some circumstances we may be unable to achieve this deadline. If
this is likely you will be informed and given a revised time-scale at the
earliest opportunity.

 

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request. If this is the case you will be informed and
the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment
from you. If you chose not to make a payment then your request will remain
unanswered.

 

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
NICE.

 

Yours sincerely,

Heather

 

Communications Executive (Enquiries)

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Level 1A, City Tower | Piccadilly Plaza | Manchester | M1 4BT | United
Kingdom

Tel: 44 (0)300 323 0141

Web: [8]www.nice.org.uk 

 

[9]How NICE is supporting the health and care system throughout the
pandemic by continually updating our COVID-19 guidelines

 

show quoted sections