Fitness To Practice Investigations/Outcomes - North East Ambulance Service
Date: Saturday 22nd June 2024
Re - FOIA 2000 Request - Fitness To Practice Investigations/Outcomes - North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Dear Health and Care Professions Council,
I am requesting information from your organisation under the provisions of the Freedom Of Information Act 2000.
I request the following information regarding concerns raised with the HCPC regarding North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) paramedics. This in relation to concerns raised regarding paramedics fitness to practice.
(1) How many concerns were received by the HCPC regarding NEAS Paramedics, employed by NEAS at he point the concern was received. I request this data from 2018 to 22nd June 2024?
(2) Of these concerns, how many were received via the following referrals:
(2a) From members of the public
(2b) From their employer (NEAS)
(2c) From the Police
(2d) From Other Health and Social Care Professionals
(2e) From regulators (eg CQC, NHSE,ICO,PHSO,NMC,GMC)
(2f) Self Referral by the Paramedic
(2g) From any other person or organisation not listed above (Please provide details of the disaggregation)
(3) Of these concerns received, between 2018 and 22nd June 2024, how many passed the HCPC 'threshold' for proceeding to the investigation stage, for consideration by the Investigating committee?
(4) Of the concerns considered by the investigating committee between 2018 and June 2024, how many went forward to a final hearing?
(5) Of the concerns that were heard by the HCPCT, between 2018 and June 2024, what was the outcome of these cases?
(5a) No Further Action
(5b) Caution
(5c) Conditions Of Practice
(5d) Suspension
(5e) Struck Off From Register
(5f) Other (Please provide details of disaggregation)
(6) How many cases referred to the HCPC, regarding concerns raised about NEAS paramedics from 2018 - 2024 still remain open?
(7) Of the cases referred to the HCPC, regarding concerns about NEAS paramedics from 2018 - 2024, which still remain open, at what stage in the process do these cases currently sit?
(7a) Screening/ Triage Stage
(7b) Investigation Committee
(7c) HCPCT
(8) Of the cases referred to the HCPC, regarding concerns raised about NEAS paramedics from 2018 -2024 that remain open, please confirm the duration of the case which has been open for the longest period of time?
The FOIA 2000 states that you should provide me with the information within 20 working days, unless and exemption applies.
I request that the HCPC provides me with the necessary advice and assistance. In the unlikely event that this simple request exceeds the time and costs limits as outlined within the act.
Yours faithfully,
David Change
Dear David Change
Thank you for your email dated 22 June 2024.
We are treating this as a request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 (FOIA).
We will deal with your request as promptly as possible and at the latest,
within 20 working days of receiving it, as required by the FOIA. If you
have any queries about your request, please do contact us using this email
address.
The reference number for your request is FR08672.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information
Health and Care Professions Council
Park House, 184 - 186 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU
[1]www.hcpc-uk.org
Follow us on [2]Facebook, [3]LinkedIn, [4]Twitter and [5]YouTube
Please consider the environment before printing this email
Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg
neu Saesneg
Our Ref. FR08672
Dear David Change
Thank you for your email dated 22 June 2024.
Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA).
Between January 2018 and June 2024, we received 2,356 fitness to practise
(FTP) concerns about paramedics. However, to provide you with accurate
data for the number of FTP concerns regarding paramedics employed by North
East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) would require us to
conduct a manual review of individual FTP cases to extract this
information.
Section 12 of the FOIA makes provision for public authorities to refuse
requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed
the appropriate cost limit, for the Health and Care Professions Council
that is £450. Staff time can be charged at £25 per hour, this equates to
18 hours before the limit is met. To provide you with this data would
exceed the appropriate cost limit under Section 12.
We are sorry we are unable to assist further with your request.
Internal review
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review
requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of
the response to your original request and should be addressed to:
Governance Department
Health and Care Professions Council
Park House
184 - 186 Kennington Park Road
London
SE11 4BU
Email: [1][email address]
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your internal review, you
have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Website: [2]www.ico.org.uk
There is no charge for making an appeal.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information
Health and Care Professions Council
Park House, 184 - 186 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU
[3]www.hcpc-uk.org
Follow us on [4]Facebook, [5]LinkedIn, [6]Twitter and [7]YouTube
Please consider the environment before printing this email
Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg
neu Saesneg
Information classification and handling: “Confidential” – data should
always be kept locked in a secure location. Multiple layers of protection
such as a secure building, access control, and locked offices within a
building are adequate protection. Electronic transmission of Confidential
data with Personally Identifiable Information (PII) must be secured via
encryption or secured form of transport. The data is for the addressee
only; disclosure, transmission or dissemination of Confidential data must
be authorized by the HCPC information owner.
The material transmitted in this email is intended only for the person or
legal entity to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential and
privileged information. It may not be used or disclosed except for the
purpose for which it has been sent. If you are not the addressee or have
received this email in error please notify the sender and do not read,
print, re-transmit, store or act in reliance on the material in this
email.
___________________________
mcr: c2 aip
___________________________
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. http://www.hcpc-uk.org/
4. https://en-gb.facebook.com/hcpcuk/
5. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-hea...
6. https://twitter.com/The_HCPC
7. https://www.youtube.com/user/HCPCuk
23rd July 2024
Your Ref - FR08672
Fitness To Practice Investigations/Outcomes - North East Ambulance Service
Re - Request For Internal Review - Breach Of Section 1(a) - Section 10 (1) - Section 16 FOIA 2000
Dear Health and Care Professions Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Health and Care Professions Council's handling of my FOI request 'Fitness To Practice Investigations/Outcomes - North East Ambulance Service'.
I acknowledge your response in relation to my request under the Freedom Of Information Act 2000.
You state you are unable to provide the information, stating that section 12(1) is engaged, in respect of my request exceed time/costs limits imposed by the act.
The HCPC states that it would need to carryout a manual review in order to provide the information which I have requested. I contest the accuracy of this statement, as the HCPC retains and updates a public database on its hcpts website.
Whereby members of the public can to some degree search for information, this is indicative of the HCPC using a computerised database that is more than capable or returning the results I have requested inline with the costs and times limits as set out within section 12(1) of the FOIA 2000.
Evidence to support that the HCPC can provide such data is evidenced in previous requests which are publicly available to view on the website, 'whatdotheyknow'. To support this, I have provided the link below to one such request, whereby the HCPC provided the information requested. This request was logged by the HCPC under the unique reference - FR06201.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n...
The above request is so similar in nature to the information which I have requested, that this draws doubt on the legitimacy of the response the HCPC has provided to me. As the HCPC provided the data requested in the above case, but refused to supply the information in my similar request.
To underline this, in the above request, you provide information in relation to the North East Ambulance Service from 2014 - 2019.
It also proves that the information requested can be provided without exceeding the costs and time limits, outlined within section 12 (1). This also brings into question the honesty and integrity of the response provided by the HCPC.
This example also proves that the section 12 (1) exemption is not correctly engaged in these circumstances and therefore your response is illegitimate and unsound legally. The response provided to me by the HCPC is duplicitous, evidencing the HCPC is deliberately withholding the information which I have requested, without lawful exemption for doing so.
Further issues and concerns
Under section 1 (a) of the FOIA, the HCPC has failed to comply with this section of the act, which is more commonly referred to as 'the duty to confirm or deny' if it holds the information which I have requested.
Under section 10 (1) of the FOIA, the HCPC has failed to comply with this section of the act. As the HCPC has failed to respond to my request within 20 working days. My request was made on the 22nd June 2024, with your organisation responding on the 23rd July 2024.
Under section 16 of the FOIA, the HCPC has failed to comply with this section of the act. It is the duty of the public authority (The HCPC), to to provide advice and assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do so, to persons who propose to make, or have made, requests for information to it.
In respect of section 16 of the FOIA, I refer you to my original request dated the 22nd June 2024. This specifically states, ' I request that the HCPC provides me with the necessary advice and assistance. In the unlikely event that this simple request exceeds the time and costs limits as outlined within the act'.
You have failed to adhere to section 45 of the FOIA (Code of Practice), section 2 (a) regarding the following provision -
***the provision of advice and assistance by public authorities to persons who propose to make, or have made, requests for information to them***
On that basis, I request the HCPC conducts an internal review, I reserve the right to provide further and better information to the HCPC, ICO or Information Tribunal in due course.
I will be bringing the breaches outlined above to the attention of the Information Commissioners Office.
I await your response to my internal review in line with the FOIA 2000 legislation and code of practice as outlined at section 45.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/f...
Yours faithfully,
David Change
Dear David Change
Thank you for your email dated 23 July 2024, the contents of which has
been noted.
As you are unhappy with our response sent to you on 23 July 2024, your
request has been escalated for an internal review and as such has now been
passed to the Chief Information Security & Risk Officer.
We aim to respond to your internal review as soon as possible and at the
latest, within 20 working days of receiving it.
The reference number for your request is FR08732.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information
Health and Care Professions Council
Park House, 184 - 186 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU
[1]www.hcpc-uk.org
Follow us on [2]Facebook, [3]LinkedIn, [4]Twitter and [5]YouTube
Please consider the environment before printing this email
Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg
neu Saesneg
Information classification and handling: “Confidential” – data should
always be kept locked in a secure location. Multiple layers of protection
such as a secure building, access control, and locked offices within a
building are adequate protection. Electronic transmission of Confidential
data with Personally Identifiable Information (PII) must be secured via
encryption or secured form of transport. The data is for the addressee
only; disclosure, transmission or dissemination of Confidential data must
be authorized by the HCPC information owner.
The material transmitted in this email is intended only for the person or
legal entity to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential and
privileged information. It may not be used or disclosed except for the
purpose for which it has been sent. If you are not the addressee or have
received this email in error please notify the sender and do not read,
print, re-transmit, store or act in reliance on the material in this
email.
___________________________
mcr: c2 aip
___________________________
References
Visible links
1. http://www.hcpc-uk.org/
2. https://en-gb.facebook.com/hcpcuk/
3. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-hea...
4. https://twitter.com/The_HCPC
5. https://www.youtube.com/user/HCPCuk
Dear David Change
Please find attached our response to your recent request for an internal
review.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information
Health and Care Professions Council
Park House, 184 - 186 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU
[1]www.hcpc-uk.org
Follow us on [2]Facebook, [3]LinkedIn, [4]Twitter and [5]YouTube
Please consider the environment before printing this email
Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg
neu Saesneg
Information classification and handling: “Confidential” – data should
always be kept locked in a secure location. Multiple layers of protection
such as a secure building, access control, and locked offices within a
building are adequate protection. Electronic transmission of Confidential
data with Personally Identifiable Information (PII) must be secured via
encryption or secured form of transport. The data is for the addressee
only; disclosure, transmission or dissemination of Confidential data must
be authorized by the HCPC information owner.
The material transmitted in this email is intended only for the person or
legal entity to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential and
privileged information. It may not be used or disclosed except for the
purpose for which it has been sent. If you are not the addressee or have
received this email in error please notify the sender and do not read,
print, re-transmit, store or act in reliance on the material in this
email.
___________________________
mcr: c2 aip
___________________________
References
Visible links
1. http://www.hcpc-uk.org/
2. https://en-gb.facebook.com/hcpcuk/
3. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-hea...
4. https://twitter.com/The_HCPC
5. https://www.youtube.com/user/HCPCuk
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David Change left an annotation ()
As a result of the HCPCs breach of the FOIA 2000 and its code of practice under section 45, I have made a complaint to the ICO.
Asking that they issue a 'Decision Notice' in respect of the breaches.
My complaint email to the ICO can be read in full below
FOIA 2000 Complaint - HCPC - 23rd July 2024
David Change
8:53 PM
to icocasework
23rd July 2024
HCPC Ref - FR08672
Re - Complaint Regarding Breach of FOIA - Sections 1(a), 10(1) and Section 16
Dear Sir/Madam,
I wish to make a complaint regarding the Health Care Professions Council or 'HCPC' for short.
On the 22nd June 2024, I made a request to this organisation under the Freedom Of Information Act 2000, herein the 'FOI'.
On the 23rd July 2024, I received the response to my information request from the public authority.
In this case, the HCPC failed to respond within 20 working days.
They also failed to either confirm or deny they hold the information as per section 1(a) of the FOI.
Finally, they also failed to offer the necessary advice and assistance as outlined in section 16 FOI and at section 45 of the code of practice.
Therefore, I formally request that the ICO issues a 'Decision Notice' to HCPC regarding section 1(a) and section 10(1) the HCPC breached.
In relation to my concerns, you can view all my previous correspondence by clicking on the link below.
Fitness To Practice Investigations/Outcomes - North East Ambulance Service - a Freedom of Information request to Health and Care Professions Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
I await the decision notice for the Information Commissioner in due course.
Kind regards,
Mr David Change