Outcome of Whistleblowing concern
Dear West London NHS Trust,
Around January 2020, Ealing Recovery West Team Locum Consultant Psychiatrist - [Name Removed] ( Team address: Limes, 10 Merrick Road, Southall, UB2 4AU) had raised whistleblowing concerns about patient safety, and had also requested external investigation. He had also mentioned that the team junior consultant was being framed, bullied by the management as a part of that whistleblowing concern and had escalated matters to NHS England.
When were these whistleblowing concerns investigated and by whom? Who were interviewed as a part of this investigation? What was the outcome of this investigation?
And what steps did the Trust take as a result of these concerns?
Yours faithfully,
Dr Amit Mukherjee
Dear Dr Mukherjee,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request (OUR REF: 186).
We will aim to respond within 20 working days.
Kind regards,
[1]signature
FOI & SAR Officer
West London NHS Trust
Dear Dr Mukherjee ,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request (our reference 186).
Please find below the response to your Freedom of Information request to
West London NHS Trust.
Around January 2020, Ealing Recovery West Team Locum Consultant
Psychiatrist - [Name Removed] ( Team address: Limes, 10 Merrick Road,
Southall, UB2 4AU) had raised whistleblowing concerns about patient
safety, and had also requested external investigation. He had also
mentioned that the team junior consultant was being framed, bullied by the
management as a part of that whistleblowing concern and had escalated
matters to NHS England.
When were these whistleblowing concerns investigated and by whom? Who were
interviewed as a part of this investigation? What was the outcome of this
investigation?
And what steps did the Trust take as a result of these concerns?
The Trust will not disclose any information about investigations nor will
confirm or deny their existence.
This information is exempt under section 30(3) of the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), as the information is part of investigations
conducted by public authorities.
If you are dissatisfied with this response and wish to appeal then please
let us know by writing to:
Information Governance
West London NHS Trust
Trust Headquarters
1 Armstrong Way
Southall
UB2 4SD
Email: [1][West London NHS Trust request email]
Any complaints will be dealt with through our Internal Review procedure.
If you are still not satisfied following the Internal Review, you have a
right to appeal to the Information Commissioner using the following
contact details:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
------------------------
Thank you.
Kind regards,
[2]signature
FOI Officer
West London NHS Trust
From: Christos Katmeridis
Sent: 17 September 2020 18:59
To: Amit Mukherjee
Cc: foi foi
Subject: FOI (OUR REF: 186) Freedom of Information request - Outcome of
Whistleblowing concern
Dear Dr Mukherjee,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request (OUR REF: 186).
We will aim to respond within 20 working days.
Kind regards,
[3]signature
FOI Officer
West London NHS Trust
Dear West London NHS Trust,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of West London NHS Trust's handling of my FOI request 'Outcome of Whistleblowing concern'.
Please could you demonstrate how did you apply the public interest test to each of the questions asked in the above FOI request?
Please justify why does West London NHS Trust think that such an important matter related to outcome of whistleblowing investigation which concerns the very important matter of patient safety/patient care should NOT remain transparently available in the public domain?
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/o...
Yours faithfully,
Dr Amit Mukherjee
Dear Dr Amit Mukherjee,
Thank you for your email dated 19/10/2020 in which you ask for an internal
review of our response to your Freedom of Information request (our
reference 186) issued on 12/10/2020 .
We will aim to send you a full response within twenty working days from
the date when we received your internal review request.
Kind Regards,
[1]signature
FOI & SAR Officer
West London NHS Trust
Dear Dr Mukherjee ,
With regards to your FOI request which we have logged under ref: (221)
Please accept our apologies for the delay in getting back to you with a
response and for breaching the statutory 20 working days allotted to
respond to such requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Due to competing priorities arising from the COVID-19 global pandemic,
unfortunately it is taking us longer than 20 working days to respond back
to some requests we receive. We will get back to you at the earliest
possible and would like to thank you for your continued patience.
Kind regards,
[1]signature
FOI & SAR Officer
West London NHS Trust
From: foi foi
Sent: 19 October 2020 14:44
To: Amit Mukherjee
Cc: foi foi
Subject: FOI (OUR REF: 186) Internal review of Freedom of Information
request - Outcome of Whistleblowing concern
Dear Dr Amit Mukherjee,
Thank you for your email dated 19/10/2020 in which you ask for an internal
review of our response to your Freedom of Information request (our
reference 186) issued on 12/10/2020 .
We will aim to send you a full response within twenty working days from
the date when we received your internal review request.
Kind Regards,
[2]signature
FOI & SAR Officer
West London NHS Trust
Dear foi,
I sincerely appreciate your teams' wonderful commitment and efforts in these pandemic times , including your non frontline and non clinical settings work relatively, to help giving data in public interests AND we, the public will be ever so indebted for your efforts .
I confirm respectfully that my request is urgent now as the statutory deadline has passed awhile ago. I sincerely hope that you will continue your duty for upholding public interests equally especially in the interests of patient safety during this pandemic.
Yours sincerely,
Amit Mukherjee
Dear Dr Mukherjee,
Please find the attached response to your request.
Kind Regards,
FOI & SAR Officer
West London NHS Trust
From: foi foi
Sent: 19 October 2020 14:44
To: Amit Mukherjee
Cc: foi foi
Subject: FOI (OUR REF: 186) Internal review of Freedom of Information
request - Outcome of Whistleblowing concern
Dear Dr Amit Mukherjee,
Thank you for your email dated 19/10/2020 in which you ask for an internal
review of our response to your Freedom of Information request (our
reference 186) issued on 12/10/2020 .
We will aim to send you a full response within twenty working days from
the date when we received your internal review request.
Kind Regards,
[1]signature
FOI & SAR Officer
West London NHS Trust
23.12.20
To,
ICO
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/o...
Please check link above for details.
I asked West London NHS Trust for outcome of whistleblowing concern investigation. They refused citing that his information is exempt under section 30(3) FOIA), despite a request for internal review. I did not ask for any personal information.
Please look into this as such a response sets a legacy for hospital management to hide steps taken in the interest of patient safety.
Kindly acknowledge this complaint.
cc: West London NHS Trust
Dear ICO,
I note your decision dated 9th Sept 2021 supporting the Trust in not to disclose outcome of whistleblowing concerns.
I oppose this decision. It sets a dangerous example to other public bodies who may use the confidentiality clause to prevent their processes from public scrutiny and transparency.
On the grounds of wider public interest, I have therefore submitted my application in the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) to appeal against your decision.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Amit Mukherjee
CC: West London NHS Trust
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Amit Mukherjee left an annotation ()
23.12.2020
To ICO,
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/o...
Please check link above for details.
I asked West London NHS Trust for outcome of whistleblowing concern investigation. They refused citing that his information is exempt under section 30(3) FOIA), despite a request for internal review. I did not ask for any personal information.
Please look into this as such a response sets a legacy for hospital management to hide steps taken in the interest of patient safety.
Kindly acknowledge this complaint.