People diagnosed with Myeloma in Jersey in the last 10 years

​​Request ​736088246

Please can you provide the number of people in Jersey diagnosed with myeloma in jersey over the last 10yrs (broken down by year ie number diagnosed each year)

In addition, please can you provide the breakdown by gender & if possible, occupation (former occupation if retired) & residential location (parish).

Response

Information supplied for the Channel Islands Cancer Report shows no new diagnoses of myeloma recorded from 2016 to 2020. Data is not yet available to report upon for the period from 2021 to the present, therefore, Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

Whilst information on date of first presentation / diagnosis would be documented within the clinical notes of an individual’s medical record, as noted in a Freedom of Information response published to www.gov.je​ in July 2025, it is not currently possible to report this information from the central records held by Health and Care Jersey.

gov.je/government/freedomofinformation/pages/foi.aspx?ReportID=8738​

As per the July 2025 response referenced and linked above, Health and Care Jersey has implemented the upgraded Somerset Cancer Registry system, which is expected to be fully functional in the next quarter of 2025. This will enable more comprehensive reporting.

Article applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Internal Review Request

The Freedom of Information (FOI) request seeking data on myeloma diagnoses and demographics was received by Health and are Jersey (HCJ) on 01 August 2025. A response was provided to the applicant on 12 September 2025.

Following receipt of the FOI response, the applicant requested an Internal Review on 16 September 2025 querying the contents of the response and, consequently, the application of Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

The applicant contacted the Central FOI Unit to request an Internal Review, as follows:

“I am struggling to believe that they don’t capture this data, there must be someone at the hospital logging this.

It is very worrying that conditions are not logged & monitored out of public safety.

Two consultants have confirmed that the numbers of myeloma are much higher than the U.K. & Guernsey & I need to know that this is being investigated.”

Internal Review Response

The Deputy Medical Director and the Head of HCJ Business Intelligence were asked to undertake the Internal Review. Neither party had been involved in drafting or authorising the original response.

The Internal Review was coordinated and administered by the HCJ FOI Officer, and took place at Jersey General Hospital on 03 November 2025. The in-scope FOI response and the Internal Review Procedure were shared with both reviewers on this day.

Both the Deputy Medical Director and the Head of HCJ Business Intelligence were asked to consider whether:

▪ the Freedom of Information request had been handled appropriately

▪ the Freedom of Information Law (Jersey) Law 2011 has been properly applied

▪ there were any other options available in order to respond to the request

▪ it is possible to provide you with any further information, and

They will also provide an outcome of the internal review by stating whether:

▪ the original decision is upheld, or

▪ the original decision is reversed in part or in full, or

▪ the original decision is modified

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Was the request handled appropriately?

Extensive investigations had been undertaken for a Freedom of Information query answered in July 2025 on cancer data. Relevant service areas, including Oncology and the General Manager and Assistant General Manager for Cancer and Patient Access, were consulted and it was established that data were not collected or held in a central record for date of diagnosis.

Enquiries were also made to investigate record sources available for this request with Public Health Intelligence colleagues (in respect of the Channel Islands Cancer Reports) and Haematology.

Has the Law been properly applied?

Freedom of Information is designed to enable access to information held in recorded form by a Scheduled Public Authority. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 defines ‘information held’, as follows:

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if – 

(a) it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or 

(b) it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Where information is not held in accordance with that definition, Article 3 is cited.

Having reviewed the definitions as stated in the relevant legislation, and conducting thorough investigations into any other records or information source available, it was agreed that the Law had been appropriately considered and applied because the information requested was confirmed as ‘not held’ and what information was available was appropriately signposted.

Were there any other options available?

Article 12 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 places a duty on Scheduled Public Authorities to make reasonable efforts to provide sufficient advice and assistance to applicants. Whilst agreeing that the Law had been appropriately applied, we also reviewed whether:

▪ there were any other options available when responding to this FOI request

Freedom of Information legislation is designed to further the aim of greater openness and transparency by enabling ready access to public information. In responding to this request, the reviewers considered whether HCJ could have provided a more detailed explanation of the extent or limitations to which information is available. The reviewers also queried whether any other sources were available to interrogate for the information requested, and extensive investigations were completed.

Is it possible to provide you with any further information?

Data held within Haematology and the systems used has been reviewed and reconciled for diagnosis information. Only those receiving active treatment in recent years can be identified, so the dataset will not capture those diagnosed in the past 10 years who stopped active treatment for any reason before this period, nor those who receive treatment solely through other providers.

69 patients with a diagnosis of multiple myeloma are recorded across Bookwise and other records held within Haematology, 43 of which have been diagnosed in the past 10 years.

13 of these individuals were diagnosed from 2016 to 2020

40 of these individuals were diagnosed from diagnosed 2021 - 2025

Owing to the small numbers involved, an annual breakdown is not provided as this could identify individual patients. Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied to protect the privacy of individuals.

21 of those identified are female, 32 are male.

Article applied 

Article 25 - Personal information 

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005. 

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if – 

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and (b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.

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Outcome

It was agreed that HCJ appropriately handled the original response and that the information contained therein was accurate. The original decision is partially upheld, with the acknowledgement that providing additional information on the extent and limitations of data held may be helpful.

Of note, since the original response was issued, an updated version of the Channel Islands Cancer Report containing data through to 2022 has been published to www.gov.je​:

Channel Islands Cancer Report 2009 to ​2022​​