Dear all

 

I’m in the middle of handling a data protection request. The requester would like to see their occupational health file, among other things. I have asked occupational health to release the file to me. I always ask for information to come to me. It means I can ensure it goes out within the deadline and that the requester receives information in one wodge rather than in dribs and drabs from different areas of the organisation. I also check for references to third parties for redaction.

 

Occ Health have come back to me and said that they can’t release a file to me as I am a third party. In addition to the form the requester has filled out for my office they want him to fill out their form to authorise release of his data to a third party (i.e. me)

 

It’s never occurred to me before that I am a third party. I just think of myself as a conduit through which information flows.  Am I being naïve? Or are Occ Health being over zealous? In the year I’ve been in post I’ve not had a request for Occ Health files before, so it’s set me thinking.

 

As it happens I think the file size is such (it’s paper) that we’ll ask the requester to come in and look at it, but I’d still like to hear what people think.

 

Sara