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RDF4139-26 / TSD10425  ·  Status: REFUSED under Section 40(2)  ·  Blanket refusal; second identical refusal same day
RDF4139-26 / TSD10425 RDE / SWASFT / NHS Devon ICB / Torbay & South Devon NHS FT
REFUSED s40(2)

Cath Lab Outage - Emergency Transfer Handling and RDE Refusal Allegation

Submitted: 12 March 2026 | RDE acknowledged: 13 March 2026 (RDF4139-26) | TSD response received: 21 April 2026 (TSD10425)
Context: Submitted the same evening the Trust issued its incident response (12 March, 17:17). That response confirmed both labs failed but failed to address the core allegation, that RDE declined a transfer request for a patient from Teignmouth who was subsequently sent to Derriford Plymouth instead. This FOI asks all four organisations directly to provide the documented record of what happened, who made the decisions, and why.
Why This Matters: The Trust's incident response stated that RDE "offered support", directly contradicting the allegation that a transfer was declined. One of these accounts is wrong. This FOI requests the official incident log, divert records, and internal communications so the documented facts can be established, not just competing narratives.

Organisations requested to respond:

  • Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (ref: RDF4139-26, acknowledged 13 March 2026, no substantive response yet)
  • Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust (ref: TSD10425, response received 21 April 2026, see below)
  • South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (awaiting response)
  • NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (awaiting response)

Information requested: whether a transfer request was made for the Teignmouth patient (date and time); whether it was declined by RDE and the role (not name) of the decision-maker; the clinical or operational rationale recorded; the escalation pathway followed (internal clinical discussions, cross-trust communications, ICB involvement, SOP application); and whether alternative receiving centres were contacted and their responses. All answers requested with reference to the official incident log, divert record, and internal communications. No personal data requested.

TSD Refused Disclosure on Section 40(2) Grounds (21 April 2026): Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust applied Section 40(2), stating disclosure would be "likely to identify the individual concerned." The Trust applied a single blanket refusal across the whole request, including questions about the role (not name) of the decision-maker, escalation pathways, SOP application, and which alternative receiving centres were contacted, none of which inherently identify a patient. The Trust did not address each of the five questions separately and did not offer partial disclosure. This response mirrors the Trust's refusal under TSD10426 for the divert log request submitted at the same time.

Grounds for potential internal review challenge:

  • Question 2 explicitly asked for the role of the decision-maker, not the name. Roles such as "on-call cardiologist", "executive on-call", or "bed manager" are organisational positions, not personal data.
  • Question 4 asked about escalation pathways, SOP application, and ICB involvement. These are organisational and procedural records, not personal data about a patient.
  • Question 5 asked which alternative receiving centres were contacted and their responses. The names and responses of NHS Trusts are not personal data.
  • The Trust applied a blanket refusal across all five questions without distinguishing between elements that may engage Section 40(2) and elements that clearly do not.
  • The Trust did not engage the Section 16 duty to suggest how the request might be refined.
  • This is the second blanket Section 40(2) refusal from the Trust on the same day for related requests (TSD10425 and TSD10426), suggesting a pattern rather than a request-by-request analysis.

From: FOI (Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust) tsdft.foirequests@nhs.net
To: Susie Colley (chair@tqcc.co.uk)
Reference: TSD10425
Signed by: Sarah Goss, Data Protection Lead

Dear Susie,

We are writing to confirm that we have now completed our search for the information you requested.

We have carefully considered your request and have concluded that to disclose this information would be likely to identify the individual concerned, breaching the first data protection principle. We believe that it is likely that the information may be exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act by virtue of section 40(3)(a)(i).

S40(2) is described as "Any information to which a request for information relates is also exempt information if (a) it constitutes personal data which do not fall within subsection (1) and (b) either the first or the second condition below is satisfied".

Section 1 of the Data Protection Act 1998 defines personal data as information which relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data.

This exemption is an absolute exemption that is not subject to the public interest test.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint or the internal review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Goss
Data Protection Lead
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
Belmont Court, Torbay Hospital, TQ2 7AA

Status: This request directly tests the contradiction between the Trust's claim that RDE "offered support" and the documented patient case in which a transfer to RDE was allegedly declined and the patient sent to Plymouth. To date, only Torbay and South Devon NHS FT has issued a substantive response, received 21 April 2026 from Sarah Goss under reference TSD10425. The Trust refused disclosure in full on Section 40(2) grounds, including questions about decision-maker roles, escalation pathways, SOP application, and alternative receiving centres, none of which inherently constitute personal data. This is the second blanket Section 40(2) refusal from the Trust on the same day for related requests, suggesting a pattern. The blanket exemption is a candidate for internal review. Substantive responses from RDE (RDF4139-26), SWASFT, and NHS Devon ICB remain awaited.

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