Cardiac ultrasound

The request was successful.

Dear Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust,

I would be pleased if you can help with the following enquiry in relation to echocardiography.

1. Can patients obtain copies of their own scans and in what format are surviving archived scans stored ?

2. Does the Trust have a policy for ensuring that scans stored in one format will still be accessible and copyable when a new format
becomes the working standard for storing echocardiograms ?

3. In particular, do you have the facility to extract and copy to a different format, from magnetic optical 5.25inch disks ? and in relation to this would you assist another hospital with such a need if it arose ?

4. If a patient requested a copy of a scan presently archived in a format (for example magnetic optical disk) and if you could not meet their wish for a copy because of a lack of hardware or software, would you refuse the request or is there a protocol or mechanism you would use, such as a way of asking other hospitals or a solution known and integral to the NHS on a national basis ? and
if so please provide as much detail about such solutions as
possible.

5. Also, would you purchase disk reading software/hardware to ensure old format scans could be read and copied ?

6. If a person, having obtained a copy of their own scan having had the examination within your own trust, wanted to ask questions about their echocardiogram, would the trust facilitate such queries by making a person with the appropriate skill, example cardiac technicians/other clinical staff with echocardiography training,
available to answer such by appointment ?

7. Can the Trust clarify the reasons why one would archive cardiac ultrasound, is this primarily for potential (albeit rare) need for clinical reevaluation, perhaps comparing cardiac structure/functional change over time/ potential medico legal reasons ? The author of this request has been advised that in practice cardiac ultrasound is summarised in a paper report which suffices for clinicians purposes and so wonders why archive ?

Yours faithfully,

A Brown

Trust foi (RW6) PAHNT,

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Trust foi (RW6) PAHNT,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information Request. We are considering your request and will respond to you within 20 working days. 

Please be advised that a charge may be applicable for your request.  We will advise you of this in due course. 

Should you have any further queries please let me know.

Kind regards

Sarah Flaherty
Corporate Administration Manager

Lesley Kiernan
Corporate Administration Assistant
Room 253
Second Floor
Trust HQ
North Manchester General Hospital
0161 604 5460 ext 5460

...To provide the very best care for each patient on every occasion

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Trust foi (RW6) PAHNT,

1 Attachment

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find
attached the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust final response.

I apologise for the delay.

Kind regards,

Sarah Flaherty
Corporate Administration Manager

The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
0161 922 3450

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Dear Trust foi (RW6) PAHNT

Thank you for providing me with the information.

Yours sincerely,

A Brown