Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant submitted a request to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (the -�PHSO-�) for a copy of his late mother-�s medical records. These had been provided to the public authority for the purposes of investigating a complaint made against a NHS Trust. The PHSO considered that the exemption provided by section 44 (statutory prohibitions) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 applied to the majority of the records, although it also found that a small part of the records constituted the complainant-�s personal data and should be dealt with under the Data Protection Act 1998. The complainant has only asked the Commissioner to consider the PHSO-�s reliance on section 44 as grounds for withholding information. The Commissioner has determined that section 44 was applied correctly and does not therefore require any steps to be taken in response to this Notice. This decision notice is currently under appeal to the Information Tribunal.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 44 - Complaint Not upheld