THE DEPARTMENT of Health has stressed it has not issued “a blanket ban” on Freedom of Information requests regarding the SWAH and the local health service.
There has been deep concern after local campaigners and others were refused their requests for information in recent times, with the Department – which is ordinarily legally required to comply – deeming the requests to be “vexatious.”
Since the “temporary” suspension of emergency general surgery (EGS) from the Enniskillen hospital two years ago – which is expected to be made permanent under plans to reform the health service – volunteers from Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) have mounted an intense fact-based campaign to highlight the dangers the removal of the service poses to the Fermanagh population.
The majority of these facts have been obtained by the volunteer researchers via Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
However, now the Department has stated it will no longer be responding to FOI requests on the subject of SWAH EGS.
Referring to parts one and two of Section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, they state that given the volume of requests they are receiving on “the topic of the Transformation (now Reform) agenda, associated projects and programmes, or the withdrawal of EGS at SWAH … the subject matter has been deemed vexatious.”
SOAS volunteers have stressed they have not been repeating their requests, explaining that over the past two years, they have been forced to regularly chase up responses to requests that had not been answered.
Stating she “can’t adequately express the frustration” of having to continuously re-submit requests that the Department claimed not to understand, SOAS secretary Helen Hamill said, “To me, vexatious should be applied the other way around, as they will not answer questions.”
The Department has since issued a statement to the ‘Herald outlining its reasons for the refusals.
“The Department, after careful consideration, concluded that the cumulative effect of repeated requests for information that were substantially identical or similar over a two-year period met ICO guidance to be deemed vexatious,” it stated.
“In line with ICO guidance, the principal requester had previously been advised by the Department that it was considering this step, in view of both the volume of requests and their overlapping nature.
“This is not a blanket decision covering all FOI requests on the issue of transformation or changes to SWAH services. Individual FOI requests will each be assessed against the criteria used in the original decision and will only be deemed vexatious if they are of a similar nature to previous communications.
“In line with FOI legislation, a review of the Department’s position can be requested from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
“The Department and Minister have engaged directly with SOAS on a number of occasions and remain committed to open and transparent communication with the public.
“In common with all public services, the Department does not have unlimited staff resources.”
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