Department of Health and Social Care
644 FOI requests | Full disclosure rate: 27.6%
The Freedom of Information requests reveal a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) under intense scrutiny regarding workforce stability, procurement transparency, and clinical performance. A dominant narrative is the struggle to manage staffing levels, evidenced by repeated requests on bank staff costs, zero-hours contracts, and the 'MARS' redundancy scheme. The authority has been largely transparent about the *existence* of these issues—disclosing relocation packages for nurses and the financial cost of redundancies—but often cites 'excessive compilation effort' or 'data limitations' when asked for granular breakdowns of costs or specific staff categories. This suggests a reactive administrative culture where data is held in silos, making comprehensive analysis difficult for the public.
Key Cases
Case 355345 — This case reveals a significant ethical transparency regarding vaccine ingredients. The authority confirmed that specific vaccines use historical cell lines from legal abortions in the 1960s but explicitly stated this information is not currently provided to patients on consent forms, raising questions about informed consent practices.
Case 355291 — A rare and specific disclosure regarding the Isle of Man TT, revealing the exact amounts recovered from private insurance for race-related medical treatments and confirming that no competitors required Intensive Therapy Unit admission in 2017, providing concrete data on the health impact of major sporting events.
Case 355301 — This case highlights a potential conflict of interest involving the Minister (Hon K Beecroft) and her company, Manx Home Care. While transfer statistics were released, the authority admitted it did not hold the specific contract files, suggesting a fragmentation of records or a deliberate separation of procurement data from the health department.
Case 355253 — The request regarding the 2006 Everall Report (a major child welfare inquiry) was refused on the grounds that the DHSC does not hold the implementation data, which was assigned to the Chief Secretary's Office. This points to a systemic lack of accountability tracking for long-term child protection reforms.
Case 361157 — This case quantifies the cost of the Mutual Agreed Resignation Scheme (MARS), disclosing the total payout and annual savings. It serves as a concrete financial metric for the department's strategy to reduce staffing costs through voluntary redundancies.
Related FOI Stories
Dental Services and UDA Performance — #355317, #355117, #355319, #355331, #420033
Workforce Crisis: Recruitment, Retention, and MARS — #355311, #355143, #355153, #355357, #355281
Procurement, Contracts, and Ministerial Conflicts of Interest — #355217, #355161, #355247, #355301, #358156
Clinical Services: Endoscopy, Waiting Lists, and Procedures — #355115, #355219, #355223, #355263, #355387
Public Health, Vaccination, and Substance Abuse — #356085, #355133, #355145, #355229, #355333
| Date | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-07-11 | Shingles | Information not held |
| 2023-07-07 | Vedoluzimab request | Information not held |
| 2023-07-06 | GP registrations | Information not held |
| 2023-07-04 | Childrens | Some information sent but not all held |
| 2023-06-26 | Hospital acquired covid infections | Information not held |
| 2023-06-13 | Chronic Panic Clinic/Anesthetic - Nobles Hospital | Some information sent but not all held |
| 2023-05-30 | Cancellationof appointments. Cardiology. Non information about the | Information not held |
| 2023-05-26 | CQC hospital reports 2023 | Upheld - partial |
| 2023-05-17 | CQC full hospital report | No information sent - all held but exempt |
| 2023-05-16 | Complaints against Family Action | Information not held |
| 2023-05-16 | Employment Tribunals | Some information sent but not all held |
| 2023-05-04 | Copies of all correspondence concerning Dr Ranson | No information sent - all held but exempt |
| 2023-05-04 | PHE delay/'Toning down' of DHSC Medical Director clinical advice | Not upheld |
| 2023-05-04 | Interview Board for the Appointment of Dr Ranson | All information sent |
| 2023-04-20 | "Manx Care Mitigations", 'errors', and how they were created | Some information sent but not all held |
| 2023-04-12 | Expol/Riela Terms of Reference | Some information sent but part exempt |
| 2023-04-11 | Cost of legal proceedings | All information sent |
| 2023-04-05 | Tribunal refusal | Some information sent but part exempt |
| 2023-04-05 | Air Travel Patient Transfers Easyjet & Loganair Jan to Mar 2023 | Information not held |
| 2023-04-04 | Number of under 65 year old adults in over 65s care homes | Information not held |
| 2023-03-31 | Medical Assurances | Information not held |
| 2023-03-29 | Number of social workers on the Isle of Man | Some information sent but not all held |
| 2023-03-29 | Government funded UK rehabilitation placements | Information not held |
| 2023-03-24 | Adoption and Fostering | Information not held |
| 2023-03-23 | manx care structure | Some information sent but not all held |
| 2023-03-21 | General Dental contracts | No information sent - all held but exempt |
| 2023-03-21 | Air Ambulance service / manx care costs | Information not held |
| 2023-03-16 | Medical assurance | Information not held |
| 2023-03-16 | Jcvi | Information not held |
| 2023-03-08 | Documents on instructions to advocates for 2nd court appeal | Not upheld |
| 2023-03-03 | Death records | No information sent - all held but exempt |
| 2023-03-03 | External investigation - Dr Ranson | Some information sent but part exempt |
| 2023-03-02 | Request regarding adults with learning disabilities and provision | Information not held |
| 2023-02-28 | Cancer Incidence and Mortality statistics for IOM | Information not held |
| 2023-02-24 | Ranson Appeals | Not upheld |
| 2023-02-21 | Vaccination board | Some information sent but part exempt |
| 2023-02-16 | Diabetes Type 2 Statistics | Information not held |
| 2023-02-14 | Yellowcard data for covid19 vaccine side effects | Upheld - partial |
| 2023-02-14 | Staff Query | Some information sent but part exempt |
| 2023-02-14 | Waiting Lists | Information not held |
| 2023-02-03 | NICE technology appraisal (TA) medication issued and or prescribed | Information not held |
| 2023-02-02 | Independent Review Body ("IRB") Annual Report 2021-22 | Information not held |
| 2023-01-31 | List of all DHSC bids to Treasury | Some information sent but part exempt |
| 2023-01-25 | How many prescriptions issued for specific medication in IOM | Information not held |
| 2023-01-25 | Child Benefit Payments | Information not held |
| 2023-01-18 | meta data requirements, contractors and costs | Some information sent but not all held |
| 2023-01-11 | Dental Waiting Lists | Information not held |
| 2023-01-04 | Primary School Pupils - BMI Information | Information not held |
| 2023-01-02 | vascular dementia statistics | Information not held |
| 2022-12-20 | Air Ambulance/ GNASS | Information not held |