Release of Covid numbers for Caithness 'a victory for transparency'
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A Wick man who secured the release of information about Covid-19 case numbers and deaths in Caithness has hailed it as “a victory for those of us who believe that our public institutions must be transparent and accountable”.
Keith Banks said the outcome vindicated his belief that it had been “nonsensical” for NHS Highland to claim that reporting precise coronavirus statistics would compromise patient confidentiality.
Mr Banks contacted the Scottish Information Commissioner – the independent official responsible for promoting and enforcing the law covering right of access to recorded information held by public authorities – after accusing the health board of failing to comply with Freedom of Information legislation.
He has now been given precise figures for coronavirus cases and deaths in Caithness over a period of just under six months last year.
An email from NHS Highland's Clinical Governance Support Team earlier this month stated that between March 1 and August 23, 2020, there had been 14 positive cases of Covid-19 in Caithness. During that same period, six deaths mentioning Covid-19 on the death certificate had been identified in the county.
NHS Highland had told Mr Banks in previous correspondence that it was "unable to provide specific detail of the number of patients involved due to the potential risk of identifying those involved”, given the low number of cases in Caithness.
The board had maintained that the information being sought by Mr Banks constituted personal data – disclosure of which would contravene data protection principles. This, it argued, would make the information exempt in terms of Section 38 (1) (b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Mr Banks is now requesting figures for subsequent dates – including the period from December 27, 2020, just after the level four restrictions were imposed across mainland Scotland, until March 14 this year.
“I asked for the recorded information because it was my view that the public had an absolute right to know how many cases of Covid-19 were detected in Caithness and how many people had succumbed to the virus,” Mr Banks said this week. “I believed that this knowledge would empower the public to make informed decisions about their safety and wellbeing.
“NHS Highland attempted to stymie public scrutiny by engaging Section 38 (1) (b) of FOISA 2002, contending that because the numbers were not deemed to be high the release of the specific numbers would in their view seriously compromise patient confidentiality.
“Following requests for a review I subsequently complained to the commissioner that it was not competent for NHS Highland to rely upon this exemption, and also suggested that it would be down to guesswork and speculation to identify any individual or individuals on the basis of numbers.
"Their rationale for not disclosing the numbers was nonsensical, unless they had a legitimate reason or reasons for not doing so.”
Mr Banks described NHS Highland's patient confidentiality argument as “ham-fisted” and said he was pleased that the board had now complied.
“Naturally I am pleased that I won my legal challenge over the release of the actual numbers of those in Caithness who picked up the virus, and those who unfortunately died as a consequence of it,” he added.
“This is a victory for those of us who believe that our public institutions must be transparent and accountable if they are to earn the confidence of the public they purport to serve. I would also like to believe that the matter will be a lesson to those who believed they could play fast and loose with the legislation.”
A spokesperson for NHS Highland said: "NHS Highland applied the confidentiality guidance available at the time this information was requested. However, it is now made available on the Public Health Scotland Covid dashboard and is updated regularly."