FOI-03222

Thank you for your request for information about the following:

<strong>Request</strong>

<i>‘im looking is the names of the doctor they said they shared my  medical notes with i dont beleave they have sent my notes for my appeal’</i>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 26 September 2025.

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

<strong>Our response</strong>

Please note that this response does not relate to any specific claim(s) or claimant as under FOIA the identity of the individual requesting this information is unknown. The identity of the requester is also not taken into account when considering a request for information under FOIA. 
 
I can confirm that this information is held by the NHSBSA as it is included in the medical report received from the medical assessment supplier. All medical assessors are UK based. The name and location of the medical assessor is redacted before this report is disclosed to the claimant or their representative.

We consider the name of the medical assessor to be personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018, as disclosure of any individual’s name would result in their identification.

Please be aware that I have decided not to release the names of the medical assessors as this information falls under the exemption (section 40 subsections 2 and 3(A)(a)) of the FOIA.

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 medical assessors’ personal details due to the potential to cause damage or distress<br>
b) these details are not of sufficient interest to the public to warrant an intrusion into the privacy of the medical assessor

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 releasing the name of a medical assessor would identify them, there is a reasonable expectation that this information will not be disclosed under the FOIA. In addition, the medical assessor has not consented to this disclosure. Disclosing this information would be unfair and as such 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 2025” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:<br>
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: NHSBSA corporate, Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, nhsbsa, vdps
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log