Interim Cancer Drug Fund Request

Request

Please would you help?

Thank you for recently up-dating us in respect of your management of the Cancer Drug Fund.

We are now interested in

·         the allocation of the fund to PCTs

·         the rate at which applications are being received

·         how many are being approved and for which drugs/conditions and the cost.

Please would you therefore  fill in details in the following tables

Applications to the fund

Please note that we intend to repeat this request at monthly intervals to measure progress.

Our response

I refer to your email concerning the Interim Cancer Drug Fund (ICDF).   

I can confirm in accordance with S.1 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) that we do not hold all of the information that you have requested.

However, I will address each of your points in turn:

1)    Allocation of the fund by PCT

The fund is not allocated to PCTs and NHS East Midlands does not hold this information.  Applications are considered by the East Midlands IDCF Panel on the basis of clinical and cost effectiveness criteria.  

2)    The rate at which applications are being received

We are of the opinion that the information that you have requested is covered by the exemption available to us under Section 21 of the FOIA 2000.  Section 21 relates to information that is already reasonably accessible to the applicant.

We are currently posting a high level monthly report onto the ICDF webpage from week commencing 29 November which  includes the number of requests received during October.  Further reports will be posted on a monthly basis that will detail the cumulative position.  The website address is

http://www.eastmidlands.nhs.uk/interim-cancer-drug-fund/.

3)    Number of requests approved, for which drugs/conditions and the cost of each application

The monthly report will not give information down to the level of individual requests as this could enable individual patients to be identified.   We are therefore of the opinion that the exemption available to us under Section 40 (2) of the FOIA is engaged in this instance.  Section 40 applies to third party personal data and is exempt from disclosure under the FOIA if disclosure would breach any of the data protection principles contained within Part 1 of Schedule One under Section 4 (1) and (2) of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).  Such information would not be released under the FOIA unless there was a strong public interest.

One of the main differences between the FOIA and the DPA is that any information released under the FOIA is released into the public domain, not just the individual requesting the information and disclosure under the Act must be made with that in mind. As such, any release that identifies an individual through releasing their personal data, even third party personal data, is exempt.

All persons whose personal data is processed by NHS East Midlands, regardless of whether they be patients, staff or members of the public, have an intrinsic right to privacy and these rights are protected by virtue of the DPA. Release of the information subject to the exemption is likely to compromise those rights.

It is our view that Section 40 (2) is engaged because the persons concerned are likely to be identified by the disclosure of the information in its entirety. Such a disclosure would be a breach of Principle One of the DPA. Patients and members of staff can expect NHS East Midlands to secure their personal information and only process their personal information in line with the principles contained within the DPA.

The Section 40 exemption is an absolute exemption which means that it is not necessary to carry out a public interest test.

However, the monthly report will give the number of applications made, approvals, rejections,   cases pending and the number to be considered as Individual Funding Requests.    Details of the funding committed will also be included.

I hope that this information is of use.  If you are dissatisfied with the way in which we have dealt with your request you can ask us to review our decision by writing to:-

Mr Moosa Patel
Director of Corporate Affairs
NHS East Midlands
Octavia House
Interchange Business Park
Bostock's Lane
Sandiacre
Nottingham
NG10 5QG

If at the conclusion of any review you remain dissatisfied you may complain to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at:-

The Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF