IRB 03

Summary

The Department of Health and Social Care conducted an internal review regarding training records, hospital data collection, and annual reports for the Independent Review Body (IRB). The authority confirmed it did not hold specific training evidence, clarified that the IRB is not subject to FOI, and directed the requester to online resources for annual reports.

Key Facts

• The Department does not hold evidence of training for IRB members since 2011.
• The Independent Review Body (IRB) is not a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• Noble's Hospital patient safety team collates information requested by the IRB.
• Annual reports to Tynwald are considered reasonably accessible online and were not re-provided.
• The internal review was conducted by Mr Paul Edge, Head of Business Information Management.

Data Disclosed

• 2017-07-30
• 2017-08-24
• 27 September 2017
• 01 September 2017
• 2011
• IM101-195i
• IM97-022
• IM97022I
• Section 11(3)(a)
• Section 20
• Schedule 1
• s42
• s42(1)
• 2014-2016
• 16.12.16
• 10
• 2
• 3

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(3)(a) - Information not held by the public authority
• Section 20 - Information already reasonably accessible

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Health and Social Care

Rheynn Slaynt as Kiarail y Theay

Page 1 of 3 FOIA/DHSC/rvsd/01 Chief Executive: Malcolm Couch

By email:

Freedom of Information Team Department of Health and Social Care Chief Executive’s Office Crookall House Demesne Road Douglas Isle of Man, IM1 3QA Tel: Email: Website: Date: Internal Review Reference: Original FOI Reference: (01624) 642621 foi.dhsc@gov.im www.gov.im/dhsc 27 September 2017 IM101-195i IM97-022 Dear REQUEST FOR AN INTERNAL REVIEW UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2015 (“the Act”) I write in reference to your request dated 01 September 2017 for an internal review application pursuant to s42 of the Act regarding the response disclosed to Freedom of Information request, reference number IM97022I, dated 30th July 2017. An internal review of the response to your application has now been completed by an independent officer, Mr Paul Edge, Head of Business Information Management, who was not involved with the original request. For ease, I have separated each part of your internal review questions, providing factual clarification as appropriate.

You requested clarification in regards to the following: “Question 02: I requested details of training provided on appointment of members to this role. Audits and evidence of training related to the members since 2011 for all members. You have provided me with a description of what happens but no evidence to confirm the statement. Can you please provide me with any additional information the department would help?” Internal Reviewer response: Upon review, I find the original response to Question 02 correct, namely; the application of exemption Section 11(3)(a) the public authority (in this instance, the Department) does not hold some of the information that you have requested. You may find it helpful to contact the IRB directly for the additional information you have requested. The IRB may be contacted by post or email:
 National Health Service Independent (Complaints) Review Body, PO Box 281, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 2SH
 nhsirb@manx.net

Page 2 of 3 FOIA/DHSC/rvsd/01 Please note, the IRB is not a public authority (pursuant to Schedule 1 of the Act) and therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2015, consequently any requests for information may be dealt with as business as usual requests. “Question 10: Please confirm that this relates only to Nobles Hospital including is it correct therefore that specific records and items are requested by the IRB and dependent on the request only that information requested provided.” Internal Reviewer response: Members of the patient safety team at Noble’s Hospital are responsible for collating information requested by the IRB on behalf of the hospital. The IRB define the information they require for their independent review. The hospital follows this request. “Question 11: This question related to the evidence that was provided to the IRB on completing IRB investigation. Does Nobles Hospital or the IRB have any governance or audit (which I would assume is medical input) to ensure that the records, evidence and diagnostic tests provided are in fact correct and complete.” Internal Reviewer response: Members of the patient safety team at Noble’s Hospital are responsible for collating information requested by the IRB on behalf of the hospital. The IRB define the information they require for their independent review. The hospital follows this request “Question 13: The link provided has one report only on it. I requested the annual reports to Tynwald that are governed under the Act. Can you please provide. I cannot find these on line” Internal Reviewer response: Upon review, I find the original response to Question 13 correct, namely; pursuant to Section 20 of the Act, the Department is not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee. The information you requested is available by accessing the following link: https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/departments/health-and-social- care/complaints-and-compliments/: Downloadable Documents: IRB Report 2014-2016 (16.12.16) You may find it helpful to contact the IRB directly for the additional information you have requested. The IRB may be contacted by post or email:
 National Health Service Independent (Complaints) Review Body, PO Box 281, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 2SH
 nhsirb@manx.net Please note, the IRB is not a public authority (pursuant to Schedule 1 of the Act) and therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2015, consequently any requests for information may be dealt with as business as usual requests.

Page 3 of 3 FOIA/DHSC/rvsd/01 To view all previous Freedom of Information disclosures, access is available via the following website: https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/freedom-of- information-responses/ If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of this review, under s42(1) of the Act you have the right to apply to the Isle of Man Information Commissioner for a review of a) our response, or b) any decisions and/or justification we have used if there was a refusal to supply Information.
The Information Commissioner may be contacted by post, phone or email:  Isle of Man Information Commissioner, PO Box 69, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1EQ  01624 693260  ask@inforights.im
Further information may be found on their website: www.inforights.im Should you then wish to appeal against the Commissioner's decision, there is a right of appeal to the High Court on a point of law only. Yours sincerely

Mr Paul Edge Head of Business Information and Management Department of Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care

Rheynn Slaynt as Kiarail y Theay

Page 1 of 7 FOIA/DHSC/rvsd/01

Chief Executive: Malcolm Couch

By email:
Freedom of Information Team Department of Health & Social Care Chief Executive’s Office Crookall House Demesne Road Douglas Isle of Man, IM1 3QA Tel: Email: Website: Date: FOI Reference: (01624) 642621 foi.dhsc@gov.im www.gov.im/dhsc 24 August 2017 IM97-022i

Dear REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2015 (“the Act”) Thank you for your request to the Department of Health and Social Care, dated 30 July 2017, received in this office on 31 July 2017 Your request You asked, “in relation to the Independent Review Body (Complaints Noble’s Hospital)”: Question 01: “Please detail under which Act and Regulations this is governed by” Question 02: “Please provide details of training provided on appointment of members to this role. Please provide audits and evidence of this training and training completed since 2011 for all members”
Question 03: “Please advise who is responsible for the appointment of committee members” Question 04: “Please provide details of expenses the members are able to claim and the salary provided per session or day” Question 05: “Please provide verification of what is meant by what cannot be dealt with the IRB i.e. Events requiring referral and/or investigation by a professional body, e.g. General Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council; if a complaint is made to Nobles why can the IRB not investigate”
Question 06: “Please provide details of why a complaint cannot be heard by the IRB if legal action has already been implemented .i.ee advice is often sort following a complication or complaint from a legal representative”

Page 2 of 7 FOIA/DHSC/rvsd/01

Question 07: “Why can complaints outside of the 6 monthly time scale not be heard by the IRB? Once again local resolution of matters may take time, the patient may not be privy to all information. A 6 monthly timescale appears very short and unreasonable” Question 08: “In what year was the complaints procedure for NHS treatments implemented?”
Question 09: “When has the complaints procedure been updated in light of reports such as the Francis Report?” Question 10: “Who is responsible for collating information (medical records and investigations) provided to the IRB for independent review?” Question 11: “Is there any governance or audit exists that ensures that the information provided to the IRB is complete, correct and fair to both parties?”
Question 12: “Please advise of the 28 complaints received between 2014-2016 what audit, process was completed in order to ensure that due process was followed, all information was made available, the expert advice obtained was legitimate and that the final report was just i.e. who is completing the clinical governance, what qualification do they have and what due process do they have to ensure reports contain non-spurious information” Question 13: “Please provide Annual IRB reports to date” Response to your request We are pleased to be able to provide a response to your request with answers to some of your questions; while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Department of Health and Social Care (“the Department”) are unable to provide some of the information you have requested. The statutory exemption sections are shown as part of the corresponding answers below.
Question 01: In relation to the Independent Review Body (Complaints Noble’s Hospital), please detail under which Act and Regulations this is governed by In response to Question 01, the Independent Review Body (IRB) is detailed in the National Health Service Act 2001; this can be found using the following link: www.legislation.gov.im/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2001/2001- 0014/NationalHealthServiceAct2001 5.pdf. In addition, the procedure to be followed by the IRB is set down in the NHS (Complaints) Regulations 2004 and the NHS (Independent Review Body) Regulations 2004; these can be found using the following links: http://www.tynwald.org.im/links/tls/SD/2004/2004-SD-0216.pdf and www.tynwald.org.im /links/tls/SD/2004/2004-SD-0679.pdf respectively. Question 02: Please provide details of training provided on appointment of members to this role. Please provide audits and evidence of this training and training completed since 2011 for all members

Page 3 of 7 FOIA/DHSC/rvsd/01

In response to Question 02, While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold some of the information that you have requested (Section 11(3)(a) of the Act).
For a new lay member, training is through shadowing an IRB Convenor (who is an experienced member of IRB) as actual cases are investigated. This allows the individual to assimilate background, processes and procedures. The individual will also attend as an observer at an IRB Panel Hearing and Pre-Hearing discussion meetings. Members also receive background information by attending Patient Safety and Education Modules including ‘Handling Complaints and Inquests’; Patient and Safety Conferences, and receive a quarterly update on Department initiatives. You may find it helpful to contact the IRB directly for the additional information you have requested.
They can be contacted by post at: National Health Service Independent (Complaints) Review Body PO Box 281 Douglas Isle of Man IM99 2SH; or by emailing:
nhsirb@manx.net
It is worth noting that as the IRB is not a public authority and therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2015, consequently any requests for information will be dealt with as business as usual requests. Question 03: Please advise who is responsible for the appointment of committee members In response to Question 03, existing members have been appointed by the Council of Ministers. You may also find it useful to know that the National Health and Care Service Act 2016 (when enabled) will transfer the responsibility of the appointing body to the Appointments Commission. Question 04: Please provide details of expenses the members are able to claim and the salary provided per session or day In response to Question 04, the lay members of the IRB may claim an attendance allowance for meetings in line with the Payment of Members Expenses Act 1989; this legislation can be found at the following link: http://www.legislation.gov.im/cms/images/ LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/1989/1989-0004/PaymentofMembersExpensesAct1989 1.pdf. The current Attendance Allowances Order 2008 specifies a rate of £78.00 for a morning or afternoon session. A lay member who graduates to become a convenor will be remunerated to the sum of £6,621.08 per annum paid quarterly. This Order can be found at the following link: http://www.tynwald.org.im/links/tls/SD/2008/2008-SD-0317.pdf.
A travelling allowance may also be claimed in accordance with the Travelling Allowances Order 2014; this allows for 50p per mile for a motor vehicle and 26p per mile for a motorcycle. This Order can be found at the following link: http://www.tynwald.org.im/ business/opqp/sittings/Tynwald%2020142016/2014-SD-0356.pdf

Page 4 of 7 FOIA/DHSC/rvsd/01

Question 05: Please provide verification of what is meant by what cannot be dealt with the IRB i.e. Events requiring referral and/or investigation by a professional body, e.g. General Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council; if a complaint is made to Nobles why can the IRB not investigate In response to Question 05, The National Health Service Complaints Procedure – A Patient’s Guide states that the Independent Review Body “will only review those elements of your complaint that have already been considered at Local Resolution”.
The National Health Service Complaints Procedure A Patients Guide, found at the following link: https://www.gov.im/media/78871/nhs complaints guide.pdf, states that “Issues that cannot be dealt with under the NHS Complaints Procedure” include “events requiring referral and/or investigation by a professional body, e.g. General Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council.;” This therefore means that the Independent Review Body would also be unable to deal with such events as they will not have been considered at Local Resolution. Section 12(2)(d) of the National Health Service (Complaints) Regulations 2004, found at the following link: http://www.tynwald.org.im/links/tls/SD/2004/2004-SD-0216.pdf, does however explain that having received a complaint, the Independent Review Body must “as soon as reasonably practicable … notify the complainant as to whether it has decided – to refer the complainant to a health regulatory body (this refers a body mentioned in section 25(3) of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professionals Act 2002). Question 06: Please provide details of why a complaint cannot be heard by the IRB if legal action has already been implemented .i.e. advice is often sort

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