Freedom of Information Request: Staff Counselling and Occupational Health Referrals

The request was partially successful.

Dear University of Bristol,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, could you please provide me with the following information:

COUNSELLING AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES - UNIVERSITY STAFF

1. The total number of staff that accessed University counselling and mental health services in the last eight academic years (please present in a table showing figures for each academic year and breakdown by category (e.g. anxiety, bereavement loss, work-related etc...))

a) How many were academic staff?
b) How many were professional services staff?
c) How many were male?
d) How many were female?

2. Where data are available in the last eight years, please detail what was the average wait time for a staff member applying to see a counsellor to seeing a counsellor?

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

3. During the last eight academic years how many staff members were referred to Occupational Health (please highlight whether these were self-referrals, management referrals, or referrals falling into different categories)?

a) How many were academic staff?
b) How many were professional services staff?
c) How many were male?
d) How many were female?

4. How many staff members are currently on the waiting list to see Occupational Health?

If the decision is made to withhold some of this data using exemptions in the Data Protection Act, please inform me of that fact and cite the exemptions used.

If you need any clarification then please do not hesitate to contact me. If some parts of this request are easier to answer than others, I would ask that you release the available data as soon as possible.

I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request, and I look forward to hearing from you within the 20 working day statutory time period.

Yours faithfully,

Nicky Michaels

University of Bristol FOI mailbox, University of Bristol

Thank you for your e-mail.  The University will respond to requests under
the Freedom of Information Act within 20 working days. We may need to ask
you certain questions to clarify your request to ensure we fully
understand what information is being requested. If so, the 20 working day
deadline will be calculated once we have received such clarification. 

The University's A-Z index can help in locating information that is
publicly available on the University's
website: [1]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/index/
Our Publication Scheme is available
at: [2]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/s...
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) annually publish certain
data about students and higher education, and also have a bespoke data
request service: [3]https://www.hesa.ac.uk/
For further information about the University's FOI procedure, please
see: [4]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/foi/

References

Visible links
1. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/index/
2. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/s...
3. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/
4. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/foi/

Dear University of Bristol,
I write to ask when you think you'll be in a position to respond.
Yours faithfully,

Nicky Michaels

University of Bristol FOI mailbox, University of Bristol

Thank you for your e-mail.  The University will endeavour to respond to
your request under the Freedom of Information Act within 20 working days.
 However, we are currently experiencing a delay in providing responses.

We are currently short staffed and have a significant backlog
of requests which we are working through as quickly as we can.  This means
that some responses may be delayed beyond the statutory 20 days.  We
apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause. We have contacted the
Information Commissioner’s Office to explain the situation.

 

We may need to ask you certain questions to clarify your request to ensure
we fully understand what information is being requested. If so, the 20
working day deadline will be calculated once we have received such
clarification. 

 

The University's A-Z index can help in locating information that is
publicly available on the University's
website: [1]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/index/

 

Our Publication Scheme is available
at: [2]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/s...

 

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) annually publish certain
data about students and higher education, and also have a bespoke data
request service: [3]https://www.hesa.ac.uk/

 

For further information about the University's FOI procedure, please
see: [4]http://www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/foi/

References

Visible links
1. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/index/
2. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/s...
3. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/
4. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/secretary/foi/

University of Bristol FOI mailbox, University of Bristol

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Michaels,

 

Freedom of Information Request: Occupational Health Services for Staff
(FOI17- 267)

 

I refer to your Freedom of Information Request received on 14^th July
2017. We apologise for the delay in providing our response.  We are
currently extremely short staffed and have a significant backlog, which we
are working through as quickly as we can.  We have contacted the
Information Commissioner’s Office to explain the situation.

 

Your Request

 

1. The total number of staff that accessed University counselling and
mental health services in the last eight academic years (please present in
a table showing figures for each academic year and breakdown by category
(e.g. anxiety, bereavement loss, work-related etc...))

a) How many were academic staff?
b) How many were professional services staff?
c) How many were male?
d) How many were female?
2. Where data are available in the last eight years, please detail what
was the average wait time for a staff member applying to see a counsellor
to seeing a counsellor?

3. During the last eight academic years how many staff members were
referred to Occupational Health (please highlight whether these were
self-referrals, management referrals, or referrals falling into different
categories)?

a) How many were academic staff?
b) How many were professional services staff?
c) How many were male?
d) How many were female?
4. How many staff members are currently on the waiting list to see
Occupational Health?

 

University’s Response

 

Further to Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “Act”) we
confirm that the information requested is held by the University of
Bristol (the “University”).

 

1. Please see the document attached. Please note, the figures have been
rounded to the nearest 5 due to low numbers in some categories. This is
because disclosing low numbers could enable individuals to be identified. 
This would be a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998.  The Act does not
require us to provide this sort of information as it is exempt under
section 40 (Personal Information).

 

2. The average waiting time in weeks is not recorded prior to 2015/16.
Please see below for 2015/16 and 2016/17 figures.

 

Academic Year 2015/16 2016/17
Average waiting time
in weeks 3.7 5.5

  

3. Please see the table attached.

 

4. The Occupational Health Service does not hold a waiting list. An
appointment is allocated as soon as a referral is made.

 

Internal Review Procedure

 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request then you have a
right under Section 50 of the Act to request an internal review.  All such
requests must be sent to us within 40 days and must clearly state your
reference number and your reason for your request for an internal review. 
We will respond to your request for an internal review within 20 working
days of receipt.

 

Your request for an internal review should be sent to:-

 

Director of Legal Services,

Secretary’s Office,

University of Bristol,

Senate House,

Tyndall Avenue,

Bristol,

BS8 1TH

 

Or you can email your request to [University of Bristol request email],
quoting your FOI reference number at the head of this letter.

 

Information Commissioners Office

 

Should you remain dissatisfied with the final outcome of the internal
review then you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (the
“ICO”) for an independent review.  The ICO is the Government’s Independent
Body responsible for overseeing the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the
Data Protection Act 1998 and The Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

 

Please note the ICO will only review cases that have exhausted the
University’s internal review procedure. All correspondence to the ICO must
quote the University’s reference number and your reasons for your appeal. 
The ICO’s contact details are as follows:-

 

The Information Commissioners Office,

Wycliffe House,

Water Lane,

Wilmslow,

Cheshire,

SK9 5AF.

 

More information can be found at the ICO’s website
at [1]http://www.ico.org.uk

 

Kind Regards

 

Freedom of Information Team

University of Bristol

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.org.uk/

Dear University of Bristol FOI mailbox,

Thank you for this.

Yours sincerely,

Nicky Michaels