Trust refuses to share full data with ICBs, citing ‘counter terrorism’ concerns

West Midlands Ambulance Service University Foundation Trust said sharing some information from its computer aided dispatch data could be a breach of data protection regulations, lead to safeguarding issues, and increase cyber attack risk.

However, the integrated care boards in the West Midlands said they needed access to the trust’s computer assisted dispatch data to support services for patients who may not need hospital care.

The request for shared information by the ICBs to allow triage of some patients into alternative pathways came after a visit by NHS England’s urgent and emergency team to Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB’s single point of access, according to the WMAS board papers.

The NHSE team said it was “best practice” for partners to be provided with full access to allow triage, according to WMAS. This led to several local ICBs asking for access.

Details of the data arrangements were contained in the trust’s July board papers. The papers said even its own employees had restricted access to the CAD and could only access records which were deemed relevant to their practice.

It said CAD includes confidential information, including sensitive cases, some of which involve “counter terrorism and other sensitive information”.

This “already poses a level of risk, however, giving external partners full access would increase this risk even more significantly,” the document added.

When approached for comment about the issue, WMAS told HSJ “alternative arrangements” had been developed and had been in place for some months.

Neither Black Country ICB, the trust’s lead commissioner, nor Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB, another ICB impacted by the restrictions, provided an on the record comment about the alternative protocol when asked about the arrangements by HSJ. 

However, they indicated the new arrangements were more robust from a cyber security and information governance perspective.

The trust’s risk register rates handover delays, which are running at around 25,000 lost operational hours a month, at 25 – the highest risk score possible.

WMAS has said introducing a 45 minute handover, where crews leave after this time, would save more than 200 lives a year as it could then respond more quickly to emergency calls. But ICBs have been critical of its behaviour and said it has been taking “unilateral decisions”.

The development comes with WMAS already in dispute with its ICBs about funding with the trust claiming it needs an additional £20m a year to improve response times in response to a Care Quality Commission notice served last year.