NHS Digital Patient’s Audit Data

The request was refused by NHS Digital.

Dear NHS Digital,

I would like to request the following information under the freedom of Information Act 2000.

Dear NHS Digital,

Please can you clarify a few matters regarding patient's rights to know who has accessed their medical data on the PDS Service.

Please can you clarify whether or not the following information is accurate in regards to patient’s that submit a DSAR to NHS Digital for their own audit data.

1) If a patient submits a DSAR to NHS Digital for their own audit data, are the only names that should be redacted from the audit log the receptionists?

2) If NHS Digital do redact any health professionals name that has accessed the medical records, do they need to provide the patient with a valid reason for each name that is redacted on each occasion within the patient’s audit log?

2) Please can you confirm whether or not NHS Digital should also provide the patient with the health professional's reasons for accessing the medical records?

3) If a patient requests for an independent review of their DSAR request by a Caldicott Guardian due to missing information from their DSAR, do NHS Digital have a duty to honour the patient’s request?

As you are aware, NHS Digital also has it’s own Counter fraud team known as the NHS Digital Counter Fraud team. I believe they also investigate complaints in regards to bribery and corruption.

I believe that patient’s can contact the team at the following address: [email address]

4) Please can you confirm whether or not the NHSD Counter fraud team work independently from the team that handle patient’s DSAR requests?

Yours faithfully,

David Coats

Yours faithfully,

David Coats

NHS Digital Enquiries (NHS DIGITAL),

Ref: NIC-682921-Y1W0D 

Dear David Coats,

We are writing to acknowledge that your request for information was
received by NHS Digital on 6/10/2022 and is currently being considered.

If NHS Digital is able to provide you with the information you have
requested, then under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act you are
entitled to receive it promptly and in any event no later than the 20th
working day following the date of receipt. However, we may need to contact
you to clarify your request. If this is required we aim to do this
promptly but no later than 7 days after receiving your initial request for
information.

The FOI Act provides a 'General right of access to information held by
public authorities'. However, it also defines a number of exemptions
which may prevent the release of some or all of the information you have
requested. Therefore, NHS Digital will assess your information request in
light of any relevant exemptions.

If exemptions do apply, then NHS Digital may decide not to release all, or
part, of the information you have requested. I shall inform you if this is
the case, and advise you of your rights of appeal.

If the information you request contains reference to a third party then
they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken as to whether to
release the information to you.

The response to your request will be sent to you by email, however if you
require your response in any other format, please contact us to discuss a
suitable format.

NHS Digital will not normally charge a fee to provide you with the
information you have requested, unless the cost of dealing with your
request is more than £450 as outlined in Section 12 of the FOI Act and
Section 3 of the The FOI and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)
Regulations 2004. If it appears likely that your request will cost more,
then NHS Digital is able to refuse to supply the information.  As per our
obligations under Section 16 of the FOI Act, every effort will be made to
provide you with details of how you may be able to reframe your request in
order for us to complete the required work within the (£450 / 18 person
hours) cost limit.

If you have any queries or should you wish to make a complaint about the
manner in which your request is being processed then please do not
hesitate to contact us at [1][NHS Digital request email] in the first
instance. Any complaints will be investigated in accordance with NHS
Digital's complaints procedure.

Further information about your rights under the Freedom of Information
Act, is available from the Information Commissioner's Office, Wilmslow,
Cheshire and on the NHS Digital website.

Kind Regards,

Contact Centre Team
NHS Digital
[2]www.digital.nhs.uk

0300 303 5678
[3][NHS Digital request email]

7&8 Wellington Place | Leeds | LS1 4AP

You can find out more about our service, including our response times and
customer charter on the NHS Digital website:
[4]https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital...

[5]Privacy and cookies

 

 

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NHS Digital Enquiries (NHS DIGITAL),

1 Attachment

Ref: NIC-682921-Y1W0D 
 

Dear David Coats,

Many thanks for your recent request to NHS Digital.

We have now received a reply to this from our colleagues in the
Information Governance team.

Please see the attached file(s).

You can share with us your experience of the service you’ve received by
clicking on the following link. 
[1]Customer Satisfaction Survey 

Kind Regards,

Contact Centre Team
NHS Digital
[2]www.digital.nhs.uk

0300 303 5678

[3][NHS Digital request email]

7&8 Wellington Place | Leeds | LS1 4AP

[4]Privacy and cookies

 

 

 

 

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Dear NHS Digital,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of NHS Digital's handling of my FOI request 'NHS Digital Patient’s Audit Data'.

[ GIVE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR COMPLAINT HERE ]

I feel like your assessment of the situation is inaccurate, as the whole reason I have had to submit similar request is due to the information not being easily accessible to the general public and also feeling like I have to reword requests. Therefore, I would like to request an internal review.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n...

Yours faithfully,

David Coats

Dear NHS Digital Enquiries (NHS DIGITAL),

May I just add that none of my FOI requests have been vexatious or in ill faith.

Every FOI request that has been submitted to NHS Digital has been a genuine request for information that I have either struggled to obtain, or I have been provided contradictory information from a different body.

For example, the ICO may have said one thing to me and then someone within NHS Digital has said the opposite, hence me seeking clarification on the matter from NHS Digital.

That is not vexatious, that is someone trying to establish who is right and who is wrong. This is what any reasonable person should do before jumping to conclusions, they should establish the facts.

Yours sincerely,

David Coats

NHS Digital Enquiries (NHS DIGITAL),

Ref: NIC-686520-T5Q0X 

Dear David,

Thank you for your email.

Your FOI review request for NIC-682921-Y1W0D has been logged under a new
reference number: NIC-686520-T5Q0X

Kind Regards,

Contact Centre Team
NHS Digital
[1]www.digital.nhs.uk

0300 303 5678
[2][NHS Digital request email]

7&8 Wellington Place | Leeds | LS1 4AP

 

You can find out more about our service, including our response times and
customer charter on the NHS Digital website:
[3]https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital...

[4]Privacy and cookies

 

 

show quoted sections

NHS Digital Enquiries (NHS DIGITAL),

1 Attachment

Ref: NIC-686520-T5Q0X 
 

Dear David Coats,

Many thanks for your recent request to NHS Digital.

We have now received a reply to this from our colleagues in the
Information Governance team.

Please see the attached file(s).

You can share with us your experience of the service you’ve received by
clicking on the following link. 
[1]Customer Satisfaction Survey 

Kind Regards,

Contact Centre Team
NHS Digital
[2]www.digital.nhs.uk

0300 303 5678

[3][NHS Digital request email]

7&8 Wellington Place | Leeds | LS1 4AP

[4]Privacy and cookies

 

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Dear NHS Digital Enquiries (NHS DIGITAL),

Thank you for your response.

I accept your view on the matter and I also respect your decision. I am also grateful that you have acknowledged my reasons for seeking clarification.

However, as I am not the data protection expert, all refused FOI requests will eventually be referred to the ICO for a second opinion.

Yours sincerely,

David Coats