Data protection request was sent to MPs office seven times, says Caithness man
A CAITHNESS man has claimed it is "extraordinary" a north MPs office did not receive a data protection request on seven occasions.
But a spokesman for SNP MP, Ian Blackford, said the request was dealt with in "a timely manner" as soon as staff were aware of it.
Peter Todd, who lives in Thurso, is concerned about alleged breaches in his medical files. He has received information about other patients in the documents and has referred his complaints to the Information Commissioner and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.
Mr Todd contacted the office of Mr Blackford, the Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP, after receiving personal information about some of the politician's constituents when he requested his medical records from NHS Highland. Mr Todd was also concerned information relating to his psychiatric care may have been received by the MP's office and asked for all the documents containing his name. He did so in accordance with a Subject Access Request (SAR) but got no response and contacted the Information Commissioner's office.
However, a spokesman for Mr Blackford at his Dingwall office said the first he was aware of the request was when the Information Commissioner's office got in touch. Staff were unable to find any correspondence on their systems. "We did not receive the requests although Mr Todd is adamant he sent them."
The spokesman said the Subject Access Requests have been sent to Mr Todd digitally and they are "in the process of sending him written copies."
"As soon as we were aware of the requests we dealt with them in a timely manner as we have done with previous requests of that kind," he added.
Mr Todd contacted Mr Blackford as he received "personal information relating to his constituents" but claimed the MP "ignored my significant concerns."
"For him to say, he didn't receive my Subject Access Request seven times is extraordinary. The reason I brought this subject access request to him was to find out what's been going on regarding data breaches in my Caithness psychiatrist's file which had information relating to other patients from his constituency.
"I sent him the legal request seven times. Perhaps Mr Blackford would like to attend the next mediation meeting I have because my data breaches fiasco should be of massive concern to him because it involves his constituents.
Mr Todd added: "Elected representatives are in a position of trust and the public should have faith that they will comply with legal requests. The Data Protection Act is in place to protect everyone."
He has claimed "the revolving door of locum psychiatrists is a major factor" for alleged data breaches in his medical files and has had a mediation meeting with senior NHS Highland staff to try and find "a constructive way forward."