Getting Ready to Fight One of the important failings of medical education is the fact that little or no training is provided on the Data Protection Act 1998. It is an extremely important Act that is very useful for doctors and patients alike. I am going to address this from a medical point of view. The most important website in the universe is the Information Commissioner's website. Every single medical student and doctor should be familiar with it. Every doctors life is spent dealing with data in some form. In this post, I am addressing personal data as applied to doctors.
Firstly, doctors in trouble often fail to grasp the basic fact that they have a legal entitlement to their data. Some feel that the very act of making a subject access request will infuriate the authorities. This isn't often the case and it is better to arm yourself with internal documents rather than be a sitting duck. You can't say " I am struck off, I should have made a subject access request". Very often doctors do for some reason prefer to be sitting ducks and I have no idea why. Perhaps it is because we are all told to keep quiet. Firstly, it is not beyond any doctor to read an Act or policies. It is not beyond doctors to get the evidence to defend themselves. Put it this way, if you don't have your file, you don't have proper line of defense. I have found that making a subject access request to an authority often makes matters a little better. It certainly prevents this kind of " victim, sitting duck effect". I don't think intelligent people like doctors should lower themselves to be victims. The other issue is this, a lack of knowledge makes authorities feel as though they have the upper hand. Part of self preservation is knowing the enemy's hand.
So here are the steps to obtain your personal file from any authority in the land. You are entitled to your employment record from the Trusts, PCTS and the GMC. There is no reason why you should not gain access to it. Defense unions never make subject access requests under the Data Protection Act. You want your file, you have to go and get it. Many of us have gained large amounts of information using these subject access requests. Moreover, it is even possible to make a subject access request to the Medical Defence Union or the MPS etc.
1. Firstly, read the Data Protection Act 1998. This will ensure you are familiar with your rights. You also need to read about your rights at the Information Commissioner.
2. Secondly, draft a letter to the authority. This is called a subject access request. It should go something like this
The above is a variation from the suggested draft by the Information Commissioner.
3. You need to either email or send the request. I tend to do both. It should be remembered that the authority has 40 days to produce the documents. If they do delay, they are in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner will admonish them for it.
4. Once you recieve your bundle of documents, you need to check it. Once you have done that, some documents may be missing. You can either go back to the authority and request the missing data. Some organisations have a review process. If they are reluctant and you have exhausted all avenues with the authority, your line of appeal is to the Information Commissioner. These are the powers of the Information Commissioner.
The above method is something I have used on Ward 87 and North Staffordshire NHS Trust. They were found guilty of breaching the Data Protection Act about 3 times over. I am sure they still have not complied and continue to conceal documents but thats the price of working for the NHS. Fairness and transparency is not part of their makeup.
Tomorrow, I shall talk about Section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998. This is a section I used to litigate against the GMC. It is though a useful section to redact defamatory comments about you that can be prejudicial to your employment.
The above is the basic guide to the Data Protection Act 1998. The more advance tactical methodology is to make subject access requests in tandem everywhere. For instance, in my case, making a subject access request to West Midlands Deanery yielded the material that was omitted from the documents supplied to me at North Staffordshire NHS Trust. Alternatively, making a subject access request to the Department of Health yielded the conceited remarks made by the Trust that were again omitted. The trick really is to go on a search and to play each organisation against the other. For instance in the recent case between the GMC and Worcestershire Mental Health Trust, the GMC lied through their teeth in court but the document obtained through the subject access request through the Trust showed the lie in bright technicolour.
In your defence, each sentenceyou write has to be evidence based. Your job as a doctor in trouble is to search for the evidence. If you are innocent, there is always the evidence somewhere. Having got all the documents, you then hand them to your lawyer with clear directions and instructions as to what to do with them.
Until tomorrow. Thats probably enough for one Sunday at the Trough Helpdesk :). The only reason we all have to read this boring crap is because the wrong kind of pigs rule the land.
Firstly, doctors in trouble often fail to grasp the basic fact that they have a legal entitlement to their data. Some feel that the very act of making a subject access request will infuriate the authorities. This isn't often the case and it is better to arm yourself with internal documents rather than be a sitting duck. You can't say " I am struck off, I should have made a subject access request". Very often doctors do for some reason prefer to be sitting ducks and I have no idea why. Perhaps it is because we are all told to keep quiet. Firstly, it is not beyond any doctor to read an Act or policies. It is not beyond doctors to get the evidence to defend themselves. Put it this way, if you don't have your file, you don't have proper line of defense. I have found that making a subject access request to an authority often makes matters a little better. It certainly prevents this kind of " victim, sitting duck effect". I don't think intelligent people like doctors should lower themselves to be victims. The other issue is this, a lack of knowledge makes authorities feel as though they have the upper hand. Part of self preservation is knowing the enemy's hand.
So here are the steps to obtain your personal file from any authority in the land. You are entitled to your employment record from the Trusts, PCTS and the GMC. There is no reason why you should not gain access to it. Defense unions never make subject access requests under the Data Protection Act. You want your file, you have to go and get it. Many of us have gained large amounts of information using these subject access requests. Moreover, it is even possible to make a subject access request to the Medical Defence Union or the MPS etc.
1. Firstly, read the Data Protection Act 1998. This will ensure you are familiar with your rights. You also need to read about your rights at the Information Commissioner.
2. Secondly, draft a letter to the authority. This is called a subject access request. It should go something like this
Dear Sir or Madam
Please send me the information which I am entitled to under the Section 7(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998. This should include all data held electronically and on hard copy.
I would also be grateful for a copy of your policy on the Data Protection Act 1998.
If you need further information from me, or a fee, please let me know as soon as possible.
If you do not normally handle these requests for your organisation, please pass this letter to your Data protection officer or another appropriate official.
Yours faithfully
3. You need to either email or send the request. I tend to do both. It should be remembered that the authority has 40 days to produce the documents. If they do delay, they are in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner will admonish them for it.
4. Once you recieve your bundle of documents, you need to check it. Once you have done that, some documents may be missing. You can either go back to the authority and request the missing data. Some organisations have a review process. If they are reluctant and you have exhausted all avenues with the authority, your line of appeal is to the Information Commissioner. These are the powers of the Information Commissioner.
- conduct assessments to check organisations are complying with the Act;
- serve information notices requiring organisations to provide the Information Commissioner's Office with specified information within a certain time period;
- serve enforcement notices and 'stop now' orders where there has been a breach of the Act, requiring organisations to take (or refrain from taking) specified steps in order to ensure they comply with the law;
- prosecute those who commit criminal offences under the Act;
- conduct audits to assess whether organisations processing of personal data follows good practice; and
- report to Parliament on data protection issues of concern.
The above method is something I have used on Ward 87 and North Staffordshire NHS Trust. They were found guilty of breaching the Data Protection Act about 3 times over. I am sure they still have not complied and continue to conceal documents but thats the price of working for the NHS. Fairness and transparency is not part of their makeup.
Tomorrow, I shall talk about Section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998. This is a section I used to litigate against the GMC. It is though a useful section to redact defamatory comments about you that can be prejudicial to your employment.
The above is the basic guide to the Data Protection Act 1998. The more advance tactical methodology is to make subject access requests in tandem everywhere. For instance, in my case, making a subject access request to West Midlands Deanery yielded the material that was omitted from the documents supplied to me at North Staffordshire NHS Trust. Alternatively, making a subject access request to the Department of Health yielded the conceited remarks made by the Trust that were again omitted. The trick really is to go on a search and to play each organisation against the other. For instance in the recent case between the GMC and Worcestershire Mental Health Trust, the GMC lied through their teeth in court but the document obtained through the subject access request through the Trust showed the lie in bright technicolour.
In your defence, each sentenceyou write has to be evidence based. Your job as a doctor in trouble is to search for the evidence. If you are innocent, there is always the evidence somewhere. Having got all the documents, you then hand them to your lawyer with clear directions and instructions as to what to do with them.
Until tomorrow. Thats probably enough for one Sunday at the Trough Helpdesk :). The only reason we all have to read this boring crap is because the wrong kind of pigs rule the land.
1 comments:
"Animal Farm was a warning - not an instruction manual"
Did some one forget to inform the lawyers ?
Very good, account to which many can link. We look forward to section 10.
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