written evidence from liverpool heart and chest hospital nhs foundation trust

8/3/2019 Written Evidence From Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

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FOI82WrittenevidencefromLiverpoolHeartandChestHospitalNHSFoundationTrust

1. ExecutiveSummary1.1 LiverpoolHeartandChestHospitalNHSFoundationTrustsupportopennessand

transparencyintheNHSandbelievethisisanimportantfactorindeliveringandachievingtheTrustsPatientExperienceVision.SinceimplementationoftheactinJanuary2005,theTrusthasfullyadoptedandsupportedcompliancewiththelegislation.

1.2 TheNHSiscurrentlyimpactedbycutstofinancesandresourceswhilstcontinuingtodeliverqualityofservicetoourpatients.Formanyseniormanagers,bothclinicalandadministrative,FOIbecomesanadditionaltaskwhichaddsextrapressureontopofeverydaybusinessasusualrequirements.

1.3 Inthe2010/11financialyeartheTrustreceivedatotalof146requestsundertheAct,with121requestsreceivedduringthefirst10monthsof2011/12.Itisenvisagedthatasimilaramountofrequestswillbereceivedthisfullfinancialyearincomparisonwithlastyear.

1.4 Althoughasignificantincreaseinthetotalamountofrequestsreceivedisnotexpected,theTrusthashadtoinvestinadditionalresourceandexpertisetofacilitatetheprocess,asrequeststhemselvescontinuetoincreaseincomplexityanddetail,withthecost,timeandresourceelementofcomplyingwithrequestsalsoincreasing.

1.5 ThefollowingarekeysuggestionswhichcouldhelpreducetheresourceintensivenessandcostofcomplyingwiththeActandthusensuretheActisfairtoallinordertomaintainopennessandtransparencyinthepublicsector,whilstensuringrequests,responsesandfacilitationofrequestsisdeliveredwithinthespiritoftheAct. Reducetheappropriatefeeslimitfrom450asthisistoohigh Includeredactionandreadingofdocumentationinthecalculationoftheappropriate

feeslimit Applicationofachargetotheapplicantforconductinginternalreviewsiftheoriginal

decisionisupheld Applicationofafeeorlimitregardingamountofrequestssubmittedbythemedia,

commercialandrepeatrequestors Applicantstospecifyifapplyingonbehalfofacommercialormediaorganisation Applicantspermittedtoonlyhaveonerequestopenatanyonetimeandadefined

reasonabletimeperiodbeforenextrequestcanbesubmitted Removetherequirementtoacknowledgereceiptofrequestsandtoconfirmordenyif

informationisheldwhenrequestsarecompletelyinappropriateforthetypeoforganisationtheyaresubmittedto

Makeapplicantsmoreaccountableforrequeststheysubmitandthattheirdetailsaremadeavailableviadisclosurelogswiththefinalresponses.Thiswillholdindividualstoaccountandcouldpossiblylimitwhatisbeingrequestedsavingresourcesandcost

Increasetimeframeforcomplianceto30workingdaystoreduceburdenonretrieval,debateandapprovalprocess

1.6 ThroughexperienceandapplicationoftheAct,thefollowingbriefpointshighlightopinionfromtheTrustsperspective:

1.7 DoestheFreedomofInformationActworkeffectively?1


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FOI82TheActworkswellinprincipleandwidelysupportstheopennessandtransparencyagendawhichwasoneofthekeyaimsoftheAct.Thiscanonlybebeneficialforpublicaccountabilityandanassessmentofefficientuseofpublicresources,servicesandfinances;howevertheironyisthattheActhasincreasedresourceandcostrequirementsinordertoensurecompliancewiththelegislation.

1.8 WhatarethestrengthsandweaknessesoftheFreedomofInformationAct?TheActhassetouttodowhatitintendedandplacefurtheraccountabilityonpublicauthoritiesfordecisionsmadewithregardtothepublicpurse.Accesstoinformationallowsmembersofthepublictomakeinformeddecisionsaboutservicestheypotentiallywishtoreceiveandalsohowthoseserviceshavebeendeveloped.

1.9 TheweaknessisthattheActisnotalwaysusedasitwasintendedbyalargevolumeofapplicants.AstheActisapplicantblindeachrequestmustbetreateduniquelyandsomerequestscouldbeviewedasvexatious,howeveralthoughtheapplicantcouldbedeemedasvexatious,therequestcouldnotbesoitishardapply.

1.10 IstheFreedomofInformationActoperatinginawaythatitwasintendedto?TheActisincreasinglybeingusedforcommercialgainandattemptstomakemoneyfromworkundertakenbypublicauthorities,asopposedtothepublicaccountabilityview.TheTrustcomplieswiththeActfullyandhasimplementedtheActasrequired,oftengoingtheextramiletoprovideadviceandassistancetorequestors,itistheapplicantsthattakeadvantageoftheAct.Applicantshavebecomemuchmoresavvyintermsofwhatinformationtheycanactuallyrequest,andoftenpushtheboundariesintermsofknowingtheirrequestiscomplex,butrefinedenoughtoremainwithinthe18hourappropriatefeeslimit.

2.0 Introduction

2.1 ThismemorandumissubmittedonbehalfofLiverpoolHeartandChestHospitalNHSFoundationTrustwhoareaspecialisttertiaryhospitalprovidingheartandchestservicesfortheNorthWestofEngland,includingNorthWalesandtheIsleofMan.TheFreedomofInformationActismanagedbytheInformationGovernance&HealthRecordsManagerwhoholdsanInformationSystemsExaminationBoard(ISEB)certificationinFreedomofInformationandhasbeeninvolvedwiththeFOIagendaintwoNHSorganisationssincetheActcameintoforce,andcurrentlywithintheroleofInformationGovernanceisaFreedomofInformationpractitionerwithresponsibilitytoensurecorporatecompliancewiththeFreedomofInformationAct2000.

3.0 Resources3.1 Inordertomaintaincompliancewiththelegislation,theTrusthashadtoincreaseits

resourcebaseduring2011/12tomanagetheFOIAprocess.InanalreadyatoughfinancialclimateforNHSorganisations,additionalresourcetosupporttheprocesshasbeenrequiredtoensuredisclosureofinformationmeetsthestatutory20daytimeframe.Asnotedintheexecutivesummary,therehasnotbeenasignificantincreaseintheamountofrequestsreceived,butnotablymoresignificant,anincreaseinthecomplexityofrequestsreceivedrequiringmoretime,resourceandcostelementtocomplywithrequest.TheprocessinvolvesmultipleseniormanagersandDirectorsresultinginsignificantcost.ThecosttocomplywithFOIrequestsisincreasingbutresourcesaredecreasingorremainthesame

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FOI82whichaddshugepressurestocurrentindividualworkload,particularlyinareassuchasfinance,nursing,humanresources,ITandestates.

4.0 AppropriateFeesLimitandCharges4.1 Astheappropriatefeeslimitiscurrentlysetto450,areductioninthislimitwouldreduce

theamountoftimespentcollatinginformationforrequestsandwouldsignificantlyreducetheburdenassociatedwiththemorecomplexrequests.ItwouldnotbeenvisagedthattheTrustwouldlooktouseareducedlimittoapplyanoverarchingexemptiontodisclosureasoftenevenwhenan18hourlimitisperceived,theTrustroutinelydisclosesanyinformationitcantomaintainopennessandtransparency.

4.2 Itcouldbebeneficialtoapplyachargefortheundertakingofaninternalreview.TheTrusthascompletedtwointernalreviewssinceimplementationoftheActandbothdecisionswereupheldandnotchallengedfurther.Thisprocessisextremelyresourceintensive,andifthecorrectdecisionhasoriginallybeenmadeitisawasteofinternalresource,oftenatDirectororseniormanagementleveltoreviewthewholeprocesstoarriveatthesamedecision.

4.3 Aspublicauthorities,weareaccountableandmustcomplywithallrequestsreceived,howeverwithcostandresourcepressuresapplicantsshouldbeaccountableforplacingstrainonpublicauthoritiesfortheamountandcomplexityofrequests.Therefore,itcouldbebeneficialthattheActallowspublicauthoritiestopublishcertaindetailsoftheapplicantviadisclosurelogsalongwiththefinalpublishedresponse.Thiswouldholdindividuals,inparticularcommercialorganisationstoaccountandcouldpossiblylimittheamountofrequestssubmittedsavingresourceandcost.

5.0 RedactionandReading5.1 Currentlywithintheappropriatefeeslimit,theActdoesnotallowreadingtimeand

redactiontimetobeincludedwithinthecalculation.Readingandredactionisakeycomponentinallrequests,inparticularwherecommercialinterestsoftheTrustorotherthirdpartiescouldbecompromised.TheTrustoftenreceivesrequestsforthemostrecentsetofBoardminutesandallsupportingpaperworkorpaperssubmittedtotheBoardfordiscussion,approval,informationetc.Itisofcompletenecessitythatallpapersarereviewedfordisclosureandredactionappliedasrequiredwherelegitimateexemptionsapply.Althoughtheappropriatefeeslimitwasnotreached,itisestimatedthatduetothereading

and

redaction

applied,

the

total

time

spent

on

individual

requests

involving

senior

managersandDirectorsequatedwellover25hours.TheTrustdoesroutinelypublishredactedversionsofitsBoardminutesontheTrustwebsite,howeverifanyfurtherinformationisrequestedandisheld,thenthelengthyprocessmustbegin.Itwouldthereforebebeneficialtoallowreadingandredactiontimeintotheappropriatefeeslimitcalculation.

6.0 DisclosureTimeframes6.1 Intermsofperformanceoftimeframesforcompliance,theTrustingeneraldisclosesfully

withintheprescribed20workingdaytimeframe,howeveronoccasionthereisarequirementtoapplyforaninformalextensionwiththeapplicantiftherequestisparticularlycomplex.InallinstanceswhenthishasbeenrequestedbytheTrustthe

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FOI82applicanthasagreedtheTrustcontinueswithitsdutytoprovideadviceandassistance.TheTrustaimstoachieveaninternaltimeframeof15workingdaysfordisclosureandcurrentlyworkstoa72%successrateofthistarget,withtheremainderdisclosedwithin20workingdays.Figure1belowindicatesdisclosuretimeframesforSeptember2011toOctober2011.

Figure1LHCHDisclosureTimeframesSeptembertoNovember2011

6.2 Withregardtothe2requestsexceedingthe20daylimitinfigure1above,onewasaninformalextensionagreedwiththeapplicantastherequestwascomplexanddetailed.Thesecondwasduetothecomplexityoftherequestwhichtooklongerthanexpectedtocollatetheinformationandagreetheresponse.Bothoftheserequestswereexamplesofextracostandresourceappliedinordertoattempttocomplywiththe20workingdaydisclosuretimeframe.

6.3 Drivenbythecomplexitiesofsomerequests,anincreaseinthetimeframeforcomplianceto30workingdayscouldsignificantlyreducetheburdenonretrieval,internaldebateregardingexemptionsandapprovalofthedisclosure.Often,complexrequestsinvolvelengthycorrespondenceanddebate,particularlyininstanceswhenthepublicinteresttestisrequiredtobeassessed.TheTrusthasrobustprocessesinplacetomanagerequestsforinformation,howevertheresourceandcostrequirementstofollowforeachrequesttoensureadequacyofresponsecanbeadrawnoutaffair,particularlywheninformationisknowntobemadeavailableinthemedia.

7.0 SourceofRequests7.1 OnaveragebasedonfiguresfromJunetoNovember2011theTrusthas3mainsourcesof

applicants.Approximately40%ofrequestsreceivedarefromcommercialorganisations,35%fromprivatesourceswhichincludeaproportionofthegeneralpublic,and18%frompressandmedia.Followingcorrespondencewithapplicants,ithasbecomeclearthatalargeportionoftheprivatesourcesareinfactfromcommercial,pressandmediasources,howeverastheActisapplicantblindthereisnoreasontorefusesuchrequest.

7.2 ItalsotranspiresonmanyoccasionsthatthesameorganisationhasmultiplerequestssubmittedtotheTrustatanyonetimefrommultiplerepresentativesofthatorganisation,thereforecostandresourceisapportionedtooneorganisationratherthanmultiplerequestors.Manyoftheseapplicantsarerepeatrequestorsalso.

7.3 InordertoensurerequestsaresubmittedanddealtwithinthespiritoftheAct,itmaybeofbenefittopublicauthoritiestohavetherighttobenotifiedifanapplicationisbeingmadeonbehalfofacommercialorpressorganisation,particularlyiftheinformationisintendedtobepublished.Applicationofafeeorlimitregardingamountofrequestssubmittedbythemedia,commercialandrepeatrequestorscouldalsoreducetheburden,evenatleastto

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FOI82

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ensurethatapplicantsarepermittedtoonlyhaveonerequestopenatanyonetimeandadefinedreasonabletimeperiodbeforenextrequestcanbesubmitted.

7.4 AlargeamountofrequestsreceivedarecompletelyinappropriateforourorganisationasaHeartandChestHospital.OftenrequestsarereceivedbyroundrobinemailswhichrelatetoservicesobviouslynotprovidedbytheTruste.g.obstetrics,gynaeandmaternity.Itwouldbebeneficialtoremovetherequirementtoacknowledgereceiptofsuchinappropriaterequestsandtherequirementtoconfirmordenyifinformationisheld.Applicantsshouldtakestepstoensureinformationbeingrequestedislikelytobeheldandnotsubmitinappropriaterequests.

8.0 Exemptions8.1 Themajorityofexemptionscanbeappliedeasilyifjustified,howevertherequirementto

undertakeapublicinteresttestforallqualifiedexemptionsisresourceintensiveandaccruescost.Thisisagaindriveninthemainbythecomplexityandlengthofsomerequests,oftenwithmultiplequestionsnotdirectlyrelated.Thisinvolvesinputfromseniormanagersanddirectorstodebatethepublicinterestfactors.IftheActcouldbechangedtoallowaninformeddecisionfromanappropriateofficertoarriveatthedecisionwithoutformallyhavingtodocumentafullpublicinteresttest,thiswouldsavetimeandresource,yetstillensuresomeoneisaccountableforthedecision.

9.0 SummaryandRecommendation9.1 ItisrecommendedtheCommitteenotethecost,timeandresourceissuesexperiencedby

theTrustinfulfillingitsrequirementstobecompliantwiththeAct.TheTrustiscommittedtoopennessandtransparencyandwillcontinuetosupportthisagenda,howeverifpublicauthorities

are

to

continue

to

deliver

the

services

they

are

required

to

do

so

for

members

of

thepublic,thensignificantburdenimposedbytheFreedomofInformationActneedstobereducedinorderthatbusinessasusualisnotdirectlyaffected.ItisrecommendedtheCommitteeconsiderpossiblechangestotheActasoutlinedinbelow: Reducetheappropriatefeeslimitfrom450asthisistoohigh Includeredactionandreadingofdocumentationinthecalculationoftheappropriate

feeslimit Applicationofachargetotheapplicantforconductinginternalreviewsiftheoriginal

decisionisupheld Applicationofafeeorlimitregardingamountofrequestssubmittedbythemedia,

commercialandrepeatrequestors Applicantstospecifyifapplyingonbehalfofacommercialormediaorganisation Applicantspermittedtoonlyhaveonerequestopenatanyonetimeandadefined

reasonabletimeperiodbeforenextrequestcanbesubmitted Removetherequirementtoacknowledgereceiptofrequestsandtoconfirmordenyif

informationisheldwhenrequestsarecompletelyinappropriateforthetypeoforganisationtheyaresubmittedto

Makeapplicantsmoreaccountableforrequeststheysubmitandthattheirdetailsaremadeavailableviadisclosurelogswiththefinalresponses.Thiswillholdindividualstoaccountandcouldpossiblylimitwhatisbeingrequestedsavingresourcesandcost

Increasetimeframeforcomplianceto30workingdaystoreduceburdenonretrieval,debateandapprovalprocess

February2012

written evidence from liverpool heart and chest hospital nhs foundation trust

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