• Who we are
• What we do
• Committees and papers
• Our public events
• Requesting information
  • About Freedom of information
  • Request information
  • Our publication scheme
  • FOI disclosure log
    • Information released under FOI in 2012
    • Information released under FOI in 2011
    • Information released under FOI in 2010
• How we work with others

12 June 2012

Summary of request

The Authority was asked for several pieces of information about incidents reported by centres to the HFEA during the 12 month period April 2011 - March 2012 and our response is set out below.

HFEA response

1)      The total number of fertility treatment cycles
Information on the HFEA Register goes through a verification process. Every 6 months a further 6 months’ worth of data is verified and information such as cycle number is then published on our website in the clinic directory ‘Choose a Fertility Clinic’ (http://guide.hfea.gov.uk/guide/AdvancedSearch.aspx). In April of this year we completed the verification of cycle numbers up to 30 June 2011 and as this information is reasonably accessible via the HFEA website, it is exempt from disclosure under section 21 FOIA and this part of the request is, accordingly, refused. We expect that cycle number information up to April 2012 will be verified and made available in the clinic directory in April 2013.

2)      The total number of incidents reported to the HFEA during April 2011 - March 2012
571. Once processed, 25 of these did not fall within the definition of an HFEA incident as per the Code of Practice 8th Edition Guidance Note 27 (www.hfea.gov.uk/3476.html) and 2 were not graded within the financial year 2011/12.

3)     What percentage of these incidents were deemed to have been:  administrative, communication, consent, security, laboratory operator, laboratory process, laboratory equipment, clinical and general. Please note categories taken from HFEA authority paper 474 dated 17 December 2008. See response to question 4.

4)     Please set out the criteria/guidance used for categorising incidents as in question 3 above;
We do not routinely categorise incidents as described and therefore do not have current criteria or guidance for doing so. For the purpose of responding to the request for information we have, however, carried this out based on the information reported to us by clinics: administrative  – 78, communication – 24, consent – 12, security – 2, laboratory operator – 31, laboratory process – 50, laboratory equipment – 46, clinical – 316 and general – 12

5)      Of those incidents referred to in your response to question 2, how many were categorised as grade A;
3

6)      Of those incidents referred to in your response to question 2, how many were categorised as grade B;
204

7)      Of those incidents referred to in your response to question 2, how many were categorised as grade C;
308

8)      Of those incidents referred to in your response to question 2, how many were categorised as 'Near Miss';
29

9)      The criteria employed to determine whether the incident was grade A, B, C or near miss
The information requested is already publicly available on our website at: http://www.hfea.gov.uk/docs/Compliance_and_Enforcement_Policy.pdf . As this information is reasonably accessible via the HFEA website, it is exempt from disclosure under section 21 FOIA and this part of the request is, accordingly, refused.

10)        How many incident reports and licence committee minutes relating to incidents listed in your response to question 5 were published for review by the public and where?
1 (http://guide.hfea.gov.uk/guide/InspectionReport.aspx?code=35&s=l&&nav=2 ) . The remaining 2 are currently in the process of HFEA Licence Committee consideration. 

11)        How many alerts were issued during this period and to what did they relate?
1, relating to product recall.

Page last updated: 26 July 2012

• Send to a friend