Council unable to Disclose report
The Claimant General Practitioner, sought an order against the General Medical Council to prevent it from disclosing to his former patient, pursuant to his request under the 1988 Act, an expert report obtained by the GMC for the purpose of investigating P’s complaint concerning his professional competence.
Held: The claim succeeded: ‘in conducting the balancing exercise in mixed data cases of this type:
(1) it is essential to keep in mind that the exercise involves a balance between the respective privacy rights of data subjects;
(2) in the absence of consent, the rebuttable presumption or starting point is against disclosure (Durant). Furthermore the express refusal of consent is a specific factor to be taken into account;
(3) if it appears that the sole or dominant purpose is to obtain a document for the purpose of a claim against the other data subject, that is a weighty factor in favour of refusal, on the basis that the more appropriate forum is the Court procedure under CPR 31.’
Soole J
[2016] EWHC 2331 (QB)
Bailii
Data Protection Act 1998
England and Wales
Health Professions, Information
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.569595