FOI-03507

##Request##
<p><i>The name and professional details of the medical assessor currently reviewing my mother’s records. I need this in order to satisfy myself that the assessor is appropriately qualified and experienced</i></p>

##Response##
I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested.

<strong>Question 1 - The name and professional details of the medical assessor currently reviewing my mother’s records. I need this in order to satisfy myself that the assessor is appropriately qualified and experienced to make a determination in a case of this seriousness.</strong>

<strong>Name(s) </strong>
 
The following response does not relate to a specific claim or claimant. The request is being answered more generally given requests under FOIA are requester-blind, that is to say the identity of the requester is not taken into account when considering a request for information under FOIA. 
 
I can confirm that we do hold the names of all medical assessors who review medical records as part of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), however, we consider the names of medical assessors to be personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018. 
 
Please be aware that I have decided not to release the names of any medical assessors as this information falls under the exemption in section 40 subsections 2 and 3(A)(a) of the FOIA. This is because disclosure of their names would result in their identification
. 
As the requested information would allow a medical assessor to be identified, I consider this information is exempt. This is because it would breach the first data protection principle as: 
 
a)	it is not fair to disclose their personal details to the world and is likely to cause damage or distress  

b)	these details are not of sufficient interest to the public to warrant an intrusion into their privacy 
 
The requested information is exempt if disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles. For disclosure to comply with the lawfulness, fairness, and transparency principle, we either need the consent of the data subject(s) or there must be a legitimate interest in disclosure. In addition, the disclosure must be necessary to meet the legitimate interest and finally, the disclosure must not cause unwarranted harm. 
 
This means that the NHSBSA is therefore required to conduct a balancing exercise between the legitimate interest of the applicant in disclosure against the rights and freedoms of the medical assessor. 
 
While I acknowledge that you have a legitimate interest in disclosure of the information, the disclosure of the requested information could cause unwarranted harm. 
 
Information disclosed  under FOIA is available to everyone and therefore the NHSBSA has to consider the overall impact of the disclosure and its duty of care. The expectation of the medical assessors is that they will remain anonymous and will therefore not be subject to contact or pressure from claimants or campaigning groups. 
 
Given the certainty that disclosure of their name will identify them, there is a reasonable expectation that this information will not be disclosed under the FOIA. 

Disclosing this information would be unfair and as such this would breach the UK General Data Protection Regulation first data protection principle. 
 
Please see the following link to view the section 40 exemption in full: 
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/40 

<strong>Data Queries</strong>

Please contact <a href=mailto:foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>  ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.

<strong>Reusing the data and copyright</strong>

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact  <a href=mailto:communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>
 This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ 

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement:
“NHSBSA Copyright 2026” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ 

Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated.  Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.


Tags: Medical Assessor, VDPS, Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log