<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><br><div><div>On 24 Feb 2014, at 15:40, Gmail <<a href="mailto:codepope@gmail.com">codepope@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div id="bloop_customfont" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;">HSCIC have made a statement -</div><div id="bloop_customfont" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;"><br></div><div id="bloop_customfont" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://www.hscic.gov.uk/article/3932/Statement-on-use-of-Hospital-Episode-Statistics-HES-data">http://www.hscic.gov.uk/article/3932/Statement-on-use-of-Hospital-Episode-Statistics-HES-data</a></div><div id="bloop_customfont" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;"><br></div><div id="bloop_customfont" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;">They appear to have been responsible for collection since 2006 but only handling the processing since 2013.</div></div></blockquote><br></div><div>Clare Gerada of the RCGP has been using HES as a "that works, so why won't care.data?" example for the past</div><div>few weeks. She now admits to being "confused" and seeking a "JR" (presumably "Judicial Review").</div><div><br></div><div>Unfortunately, this whole sorry saga seems to be full of well-intentioned useful idiots, to use Lenin's phrase</div><div>of western Communists of the 1920s and 1930s, who are so keen to do good that they assume the best of</div><div>everyone, while meanwhile HSCIC and its predecessors have been selling the data on a rather less </div><div>high-minded basis. I suspect soon we'll get the "we can't refuse lawful requests" excuse.</div><div><br></div><div>ian</div><div><br></div><br></body></html>