NHS Statutory Restrictions on data handling

[name removed] made this Freedom of Information request to NHS England This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was successful.

Dear NHS England,

Re: NHS Statutory Restrictions on data handling; NHS(Venereal Regulations)1974.
The Information Commissioner advised that any allegations of breaches of this Act should be submitted to the NHS England. If identifiable information about an individual’s sexually transmittable diseases, including HIV is disclosed for purposes different from those permitted by this Act, an offence has been committed.
I should be grateful if you could let me know, within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act, what is the ‘time limit’ if any, for the submission of a complaint about a documented breach of this Act.

Yours faithfully,
[name removed] [name removed]
7th November 2014

[name removed] (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

I found that a disclosure of information protected by this Act would be a Breach of Confidentiality, and be a TORT in Common Law.
The Limitations Act 1980, Section I (2) - ‘time limit for actions founded on Tort’ , provides for an action to be brought within a period of six years from the date of the discovery of the disclosure.’
As the disclosure occurred on 11st September 2011, this falls within this limitation.
What is the NHS England’s position in this situation, please?

Contactus England (HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INFORMATION CENTRE), NHS England

Our reference: SDR-356652 - Acknowledgement

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 07 November
2014.

 

Please be assured that your request is being dealt with under the terms of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will be answered within twenty
working days.

 

If you have any queries about this request or wish to contact us again,
please email [1][NHS England request email] and the message will be
forwarded appropriately. Please remember to quote the reference number
above in any future communications.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738 | Redditch | B97 9PT

0300 3 11 22 33

[2][NHS England request email]

[3]www.england.nhs.uk

 

 

 

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FOI England (NHS ENGLAND), NHS England

Dear Mr [name removed],

 

Re:      Freedom of Information request (Our Ref: SDR-356652)

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 7 November
2014.

 

Your exact request was:-

 

“Re: NHS Statutory Restrictions on data handling; NHS (Venereal
Regulations) 1974.

The Information Commissioner advised that any allegations of breaches of
this Act should be submitted to the NHS England.  If identifiable
information about an individual’s sexually transmittable diseases,
including HIV is disclosed for purposes different from those permitted by
this Act, an offence has been committed.

I should be grateful if you could let me know, within the scope of the
Freedom of Information Act, what is the ‘time limit’ if any, for the
submission of a complaint about a documented breach of this Act”

 

Thank you for your enquiry and request for information under the Freedom
of Information Act. Having considered your request we are of the view that
it is not a request to which the Freedom of Information Act applies. You
have asked, if we have understood correctly, if there is a time limit for
making a complaint about a breach of the National Health Service (Venereal
Disease) Regulations 1974.

 

There is no time limit set out in the Regulations themselves. Should a
complaint under the NHS Complaints Regulations be considered, the normal
time limits are likely to apply. Information on this can be found on the
NHS Choices website, by following the website link below:

 

[1]http://www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Rightsa...

 

A copy of The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service
Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 can also be accessed by following
the website link below:

 

[2]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/...

 

There may be other time limits that apply to other elements of any
associated issue, such as prosecutions and you may wish to take legal
advice on these.

 

I hope this information is helpful. However, if you are dissatisfied, you
have the right to ask for an internal review by writing to us, within two
months of the date of this letter, to:

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Email: [3][NHS England request email]

 

Please quote the reference number SDR-356652 in any future communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can be contacted at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: [4][email address]  

Website: [5]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Please note there is no charge for making an appeal.

 

Please be aware that in line with the Information Commissioner’s directive
on the disclosure of information under the FOI Act, your request will be
anonymised and published on our website as part of our disclosure log.

 

Please do not reply directly to this email. This message has been sent
from a central mailbox and incoming messages will not be received.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Michelle Butterworth

Case Officer (Freedom of Information)

Customer Contact Centre

Transformation and Corporate Operations Directorate

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738 | Redditch | B97 9PT

0300 3 11 22 33

[6][NHS England request email]

[7]www.england.nhs.uk

 

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Rightsa...
2. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/...
3. mailto:[NHS England request email]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
6. mailto:[NHS England request email]
7. http://www.england.nhs.uk/

Dear FOI England (NHS ENGLAND),

Thank you for your reply.
I should like to make the following comment:
My research concerns adherence to the provisions of this Act by local authorities. There were many concerns in early 2000, about local authorities’ handing of personal confidential data. As a result the NHS Caldicott Guardian was introduced into the local government environment in 2002 by LAC 2002/2. His duty, as defined at http://systems.hscic.gov.uk/infogov/cald... is to ensure that established legislation, guidelines and regulations relating to Confidentiality are robustly adhered to by local government employees. Local Authorities, in their role as a Public Health provider, must also follow the provisions of the ‘Confidentiality – NHS Code of Conduct’, issued in 2003, which incorporates at paragraph 46 the NHS(VR)1974 Act, subject of this Request.
As a local authority failed to adhere to the provisions of this Act, they have not only breached this Act, but also the Caldicott Guardian’s Principles. The authority disclosed information, which it was in no way legally entitled to receive, record and make freely available without explicit consent.
I have brought the matter to the attention of the UK Council for Caldicott Guardians, who is now considering my concerns.
I will be guided by the Council’s reply

Yours sincerely,

[name removed] [name removed]