Request

Please would you confirm the following:

1) How many 'Preliminary Eligibility Checks' were made by Employers into healthcare worker deaths where COVID-19 may have been a contributory factor? (this information only required if it is readily available to you).

2) How many claim forms did NHS BSA receive from Employers?

3a) How many applications (if any) did the NHS BSA reject because the Employer submitting the form did not fall within the scope of the scheme?

3b) How many applications (if any) did the NHS BSA reject without presenting them to the Secretary of State (SoS) for consideration?

4a) How many applications were rejected where the employer had ticked box 5.6(d)

4b) Of these, how many were rejected on the basis that, in Annex B, the employer had given reasons to the effect that all National Guidance (e.g. Infection Prevention and Control guidance) was being complied with and the recommended PPE was being worn by the deceased whilst at work

5) How many applications did the SoS approve and the payments of £60,000 were duly made to the claimants?

6) How many applications did the SoS reject on the grounds that COVID-19 appeared at Part 1(c) on the death certificate (not 1(a) or 1(b))?

7) How many applications did the SoS reject on the grounds that COVID-19 appeared at Part 1(b) on the death certificate (not 1(a) i.e. was not the main cause of death?

On 21 September 2023 you clarified the following:

The information requested is both for England and Wales please.

Response

Question 1

This information is not available and therefore is not held by NHSBSA, but eligibility checks are not an employer responsibility.

Question 2

847 forms

Question 3

a) The NHSBSA did not reject any claims. All decisions to reject were made by the Secretary of State or a representative. The Secretary of State rejected 8 claims where the employer of the individual member did not fall within the scope of the Scheme.

b) None

Question 4

a) Of those cases found to not be eligible, box 5.6(d) was ticked on 32 of the forms. Box 5.6(d) being ticked does not necessarily mean the case is found to be ineligible and may not have been the reason for these cases to be rejected.

Where Box 5.6(d) was ticked by the employer, other information will have been obtained, if this was not already provided on Annex B of the claim form which the employer is asked to complete if they tick box 5.6(d). A decision is then made using that additional information to establish eligibility.

b) None

Question 5

762 payments have been made. There are a further 21 cases which have been accepted and we are awaiting Probate/proof of financial dependency documents from the claimant to enable us to progress the payment.

Question 6 & 7

None.

No cases were rejected on the grounds that COVID-19 appeared at Part I (c) of the death certificate.

No cases were rejected on the grounds that COVID-19 appeared at Part I (b) of the death certificate.

If COVID-19 was listed in section I (a, b or c) of the death certificate and the case was found to not to be eligible, this was because it was found to not fulfil the Scheme rules in some other way. For example, COVID-19 may have been listed in section I (a, b or c) but COVID-19 was deemed to have been acquired domestically or within the community, not within the workplace. Please note, this example is not exhaustive and there may have been other reasons why a case was found not eligible.

A total of 7 cases were found to not be eligible and have COVID-19 shown at Part II of the death certificate, although this may not have been the cause of the case being found not eligible.

11 cases were found to not be eligible where COVID-19 was not present on the death certificate at all, and this will have been the reason for rejection.

Data Queries

If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing the data please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2023” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.