Staffing

Summary

The requester asked for staff headcounts at Noble's Hospital and details on staff dismissals or suspensions since Manx Care took over. Manx Care refused to provide the headcount data as it would require creating new information and denied confirming or denying the disciplinary data due to personal information exemptions.

Key Facts

• Manx Care took over Noble's Hospital on April 1, 2021.
• The authority stated it cannot run reports based on staff physical location due to its Care Group structure.
• Complying with the headcount request would require creating or deriving information, which is not required under the Act.
• The request for fired or suspended staff was met with a 'neither confirm nor deny' response.
• Disclosure of disciplinary information would contravene data protection principles regarding personal data.

Data Disclosed

• 2048333
• 2021-10-21
• 2021-11-17
• April 1
• IM4 4R
• 01624 650 000

Exemptions Cited

• Section 8(3) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (creation of information)
• Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (neither confirm nor deny)
• Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Absolutely exempt personal information)
• Data Protection Act 2002

Original Request

Q1 What has been the headcount for staff in each department of Noble's Hospital since it was taken over by Manx Care on April 1 and Q2 How many staff been a) fired and b) suspended since April 1 and what roles did/do they work in?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Manx Care Noble’s Hospital, Strang Braddan, Isle of Man IM4 4R (01624) 650 000

Our ref: 2048333 17th November 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 21st October 2021 and which states:

"Q1 What has been the headcount for staff in each department of Noble's Hospital since it was taken over by Manx Care on April 1 and Q2 How many staff been a) fired and b) suspended since April 1 and what roles did/do they work in?"

Our Response Q1 What has been the headcount for staff in each department of Noble's Hospital since it was taken over by Manx Care on April 1 While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, complying with the request would require the public authority to do one or more of the matters mentioned in section 8(3) (things a public authority is not required to do by the Act S11(3)(b)). In this instance, complying with your request for information would require us to create or derive information from information that we hold. Manx Care’s structure is based on Care Groups which aim to provide integrated care from combined hospital and community teams rather than specific locations. Whilst some individual services or posts may be identifiable as hospital-based, it is not possible to run a report based on posts or staff groups’ physical location, i.e. Nobles Hospital Q2 How many staff been a) fired and b) suspended since April 1 and what roles did/do they work in?" We do endeavour to provide information whenever possible, however, under section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (the ‘Act’), a public authority may refuse a request where to either confirm or deny whether it holds information would itself be absolutely exempt information or qualified exempt information under the Act. In this instance, if the information you requested did exist or was held by us, an exemption under section 25 (Absolutely exempt personal information) of the Act would apply to that information. Section 25 of the Act provides that: “Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes (a) personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject; and (b)..(i) in a case where the information falls within any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of the definition of “data” in section 1(1) of the Data Protection Act 2002, the disclosure of

the information to a member of the public (otherwise than under this Act) would contravene any of the data protection principles...”. This exemption would apply because Manx Care is satisfied that disclosure of the information, if the information did exist or was held by us, would contravene the data protection principles under the Data protection legislation. Please quote the reference number 2048333 in any future communications Your right to request a review If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post. An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review. If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested. In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. I will now close your request as of this date.