FOI Request
- Disclosure ID
- FOI/03215
- Request Date
- July 17, 2019
- Subject
- Home Office Information Sharing
- Description
1). Whether the Trust has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Home Office regarding the Immigration Enforcement Checking and Advisory Service (IECAS) helpline. If so, please provide a copy of that MoU
2). For each financial year since 2017/18 and including 2019/20, the number of patients whose information and/or data was shared with the Home Office without the patient’s knowledge or permission, and the basis for this information sharing. Please state the categories of information that were disclosed (e.g. country of origin)
3). Staff training slides (or Word documents, pdfs) used in any training/guidance sessions, related to patient charging, delivered by Overseas Visitor Managers to Trust staff since July 2017.
4). Copies of the training material used to train Overseas Visitor Managers in relation to identifying patients ineligible for free NHS care
5). Any checklist, guidance, policies or procedures currently used by Overseas Visitor Managers to identify patients who may be ineligible for free NHS care under the overseas patient charging rules
6). Does the Trust record the ethnicity or nationality of patients who are asked to provide evidence/proof of their eligibility for free NHS care? If so, please provide this data for 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 (year to date)
7). Please list the circumstances under which, under current Trust/DHSC policy, the Trust shares the home address of past or current patients with the Home Office
8). Have any Trust staff faced disciplinary procedures for not cooperating with the identification or charging of patients ineligible for free NHS care since October 2017?
- Response
1). We do have a MOU in place. However, the Home Office is the creator of this document and its marked Official Sensitive I would refer you to the Home Office to request a copy of the MOU.
2). We adhere to Chapter 12 of the Overseas charging regulations in regards to sharing patient information with the Home Office. Therefore, I would refer you to the Charging regulations for further information.
3). Staff and OVM training is found online (e- learning) through the department of health via Health Education England
4). Staff and OVM training is found online (e- learning) through the department of health via Health Education England. OVMs also have access to the DHSC forum that provides support, legislation updates and everyday resources and tools. (Patients letters and leaflets etc.)
5). We adhere to the guidance on implementing the overseas visitor charging regulations to assist us in identifying patients who may be chargeable.
6). No. Once an evidence request is complete and verified any evidence/ documents are securely destroyed or returned to the patient. The NHS summary care record is updated to show the patients chargeable category.
7). Any request for patient information would be referred to the Data Protection Office/Information Governance to make the decision on if the release of patient information complied with GDPR.
8). No