Information on the sums of monies paid out in lieu of legal action

Summary

The requester asked for annual financial settlement data for Noble's Hospital between 2012 and 2016 regarding legal actions taken by patients in lieu of court proceedings. The Department of Health and Social Care refused the request, stating the specific information is not held and would require substantial collation to create.

Key Facts

• The request was made to the Department of Health and Social Care on 27 December 2018.
• The scope was clarified to cover only Noble's Hospital, not the entire department.
• The authority determined that providing the data would require creating information through substantial collation.
• The request was refused under Section 11(3) practical refusal reason (b) of the Act.
• The authority provided a link to a previous FOI response (IM89-818I) regarding medical negligence costs as assistance.

Data Disclosed

• 2012-2016
• 27 December 2018
• 16th January 2019
• 26th June 2017
• FOI IM89-818I
• 681669

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(3) practical refusal reason (b) of the Act referencing Section 8(3)

Original Request

Please could you tell me, for the years 2012-2016, the annual amount of monies paid out to patients who have raised legal action against the DHSC, in lieu of those patients proceeding to court? I am led to understand that financial settlements are offered as compensation to patient(s) who have started legal proceedings against the DHSC in lieu of their legal actions being taken for review in court. I would like to quantify the amounts of money involved annually in this process. Clarification: The information regarding just Noble's Hospital would be sufficient. There is no need for the scope to cover the whole DHSC. By Legal Actions I mean that a patient of Noble's Hospital has started legal proceedings against Noble's Hospital over an issue they have been unable to resolve satisfactorily through the normal channels of complaint. That might cover medical negligence or simply the way they have been treated has been entirely unsatisfactory and they are not content that measures taken by the hospital in answering their complaint actually tackle their concerns fully. I am not interested financial claims against Noble's for contractual issues regarding payment of suppliers or anything of that ilk. Only were patients have felt the need to commence a legal proceedings against Noble's / DHSC due to them being unhappy with their medical care, the treatment regime they were subject to, or the outcome of said treatment whilst under the care of Noble's Hospital.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Chief Executive: Malcolm Couch Freedom of Information Team DHSC, Crookall House Demesne Road Douglas IM1 3QA

(01624) 642621 dhsc@foi.gov.im Website: www.gov.im/dhsc

Our ref: 681669 16th January 2019

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on the 27th December 2018 and states:

Question 1: "Please could you tell me, for the years 2012-2016, the annual amount of monies paid out to patients who have raised legal action against the DHSC, in lieu of those patients proceeding to court? I am led to understand that financial settlements are offered as compensation to patient(s) who have started legal proceedings against the DHSC in lieu of their legal actions being taken for review in court. I would like to quantify the amounts of money involved annually in this process.” Further clarification was sought from the requestor and duly received In order to identify and locate the information that you have asked for we need some further information from you. In particular, please can you clarify if your request is for the entire DHSC or a specific division e.g. Nobles Hospital? Response “The information regarding just Noble's Hospital would be sufficient. There is no need for the scope to cover the whole DHSC.” Further to your FOI request can you please clarify the term 'legal action'? Did you mean medical negligence? Response “By Legal Actions I mean that a patient of Noble's Hospital has started legal proceedings against Noble's Hospital over an issue they have been unable to resolve satisfactorily through the normal channels of complaint. That might cover medical negligence or simply the way they have been treated has been entirely unsatisfactory and they are not content that measures taken by the hospital in answering their complaint actually tackle their concerns fully.”.

I am not interested financial claims against Noble's for contractual issues regarding payment of suppliers or anything of that ilk. Only were patients have felt the need to commence a legal proceedings against Noble's / DHSC due to them being unhappy with their medical care, the treatment regime they were subject to, or the outcome of said treatment whilst under the care of Noble's Hospital."

Question 1: "Please could you tell me, for the years 2012-2016, the annual amount of monies paid out to patients who have raised legal action against the DHSC, in lieu of those patients proceeding to court? I am led to understand that financial settlements are offered as compensation to patient(s) who have started legal proceedings against the DHSC in lieu of their legal actions being taken for review in court. I would like to quantify the amounts of money involved annually in this process.” Under Section 11(3) practical refusal reason (b) of the Act referencing Section 8(3), the Act states that “a public authority is not required to create or derive information from the information that it holds; undertake research into, or analysis of, information that it holds; or undertake substantial compilation or collation of information that it holds” To provide context, to extrapolate an answer to your question would require officers within the Department to create information from current and existing information and systems to provide a specific answer, namely, ‘settlements paid in lieu of court settlement’. This is information that is not currently available without substantial collation to be conducted in order to provide an answer. However to provide advice and assistance, you may find useful a previous response to a request received by the Department – FOI IM89-818I , titled ‘Medical negligence costs and damages settlements’ disclosed on 26th June 2017. This response is available via the following link https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/search For your convenience I have attached a copy of FOI IM89-818I to your response.

Please quote the reference number 681669 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.

Yours sincerely