Out of County Specialist Bed Placements

Roedd y cais yn rhannol lwyddiannus.

Dear NHS South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group,

1. When the term 'Out of County' is used by the CCG in relation to Mental Health patients does it mean
a) outside of Kent or
b) outside of Kent, Surrey & Sussex combined? or
c) any other definition

2. If other counties are included in the Kent figures for 'Out of County' what date were these counties first included ?

3. How many referrals for 'specialist placements' for K&M (NHS) Mental Health patients were made to the CCG :
a. in 2016?
b. in 2017?
c. in 2018?

4. For the referrals in answer to question 3 - how many of these 'specialist placements' were made in private insitututions :
a. in 2016?
b. in 2017?
c. in 2018?

5. For the referrals in answer to question 4 - how many of these 'specialist placements' were made in 'out of county' private insitututions :
a. in 2016?
b. in 2017?
c. in 2018?

6. What is the criteria for a 'specialist placement' for mental health patients?

7. Does a 'specialist placement' infer that there is a higher degree of therapy and treatment options for these patients than for a patient on a standard placement?

8. What level of review and monitoring is provided by the CCG for a 'specialist placement' in an 'out of county' private institution?

8. Does the CCG always feedback and involve the referring organisation (in this case KMPT) regarding the effectiveness of this 'specialist placement' and ensure that these patients are in fact recieving the expected treatment?

9. When a health trust (in this case KMPT) is reporting the number of 'out-of-county' placements in private institutions in NHS and government reports & statistics it includes 'acute beds' placements but does not include 'specialist placements'. This means that the total number of patients who are referred to private 'out of county' institutions by this particular health trust cannot be accurately assessed from figures they produce. In order to get the accurate picture please tell me where I would find statistics relating to CCG 'specialist bed' placements in private 'out of county' institutions on behalf of specific CCG's within health trusts and in particular for the mental health services. If there is not a general source for the information then where would I find such figures for KMPT.

Yours faithfully,

C Harrison

Foi (NHS NEL CSU), NHS South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group

Dear Mr Harrison,

RE: Freedom of Information Request

I am writing to formally acknowledge your request for information regarding Out of County Specialist Bed Placements, which will be processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I can confirm your request was received on 16 January 2019 by NEL on behalf of the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) listed below. The references for your requests are shown alongside.

FOI.18.SKC238 NHS South Kent Coast CCG

An initial investigation is currently taking place into whether the information you have requested is held by the CCGs and if so, whether it can be released in accordance with the legislation.

Any fees applicable to this request will be detailed in writing as soon as they can be determined. Your request will then be placed on hold and you will have the choice of whether to proceed with your request. Should any clarification of your request be required we will advise you accordingly.

If you require any assistance, or would like to discuss your request, please do not hesitate to contact us quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team
NEL
[NHS South Kent Coast CCG request email]

Lower Marsh, 3rd Floor
Waterloo, London, SE1 7NT

www.nelcsu.nhs.uk
@NELCSU
LinkedIn

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir

Foi (NHS NEL CSU), NHS South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group

Dear Mr Harrison,

Further to your recent Freedom of Information request reference FOI.18.SKC238. NHS South Kent Coast CCG have requested the following clarification in order to proceed and fully answer you’re your request.

Clarification Requested:

Please can you clarify what is meant by 'specialist placements?'

Please accept our sincere apologies on the lateness of seeking this clarification. We will place you request on hold until we receive your clarification.

With Kind Regards

Jade

FOI Team
NEL
[NHS South Kent Coast CCG request email]

Kent House, 4th Floor
Station Road, Ashford, TN23 1PJ

www.nelcsu.nhs.uk
@NELCSU
LinkedIn

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir

Dear Foi (NHS NEL CSU),
Thank you for your response to my request for information.
I am somewhat surprised that it has taken you until the very last day in which to formulate a reply simply asking for clarification on terminology. I am even more surprised that the terminology I used in my request was not understood by the CCG when you are the CCG for South Kent Coast covering Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT).

On 5 November 2018 I posted a request for information from KMPT regarding Out of County Mental Health Patient Spending. On 22nd November I received a reply to some of my questions from KMPT and the answer to one question (3) referring to patients sent to out of county private institutions was:

"Funding for specialist out of area beds is managed by the Clinical Commissioning Group, therefore we are unable to assist with this question."

So it appears that KMPT understand that there are placements in out of county private institutions known as 'specialist out of area beds' for which the CCG are responsible for funding. They explained further that they only use out of county private institutions for 'Acute' placements.

In fact the Chief Executive of KMPT, Helen Greatorex has herself used this terminology in correspondence "..and if in some circumstances they need specialist placement beyond Kent, we keep in close contact with their placement to make sure that we bring them back to us as soon as possible."

One would expect both KMPT and the NHS South Kent Coast CCG to use common terminology in order to ensure smooth operation of services and also to ensure reports and statistics produced to be understandable and clear. Perhaps internally the CCG refer to this group of patient placements by another term in which case please let me know what that is and use that term instead in my questions in place of 'specialist placements'.

Yours sincerely,

C Harrison

Foi (NHS NEL CSU), NHS South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group

Dear C Harrison

Thank you for your email below, I will now send this information to the NHS South Kent Coast CCG for response.

Please accept our very sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.

With Kind Regards

Jade

FOI Team
NEL
[NHS South Kent Coast CCG request email]

Kent House, 4th Floor
Station Road, Ashford, TN23 1PJ

www.nelcsu.nhs.uk
@NELCSU
LinkedIn

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir

Foi (NHS NEL CSU), NHS South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group

2 Atodiad

Dear C Harrison

Please find attached the responses to your recent Freedom of Information
requests on behalf of the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) listed
below. The references for your requests are shown alongside.

 

NHS South Kent Coast CCG                      FOI.18.SKC238

 

Kind regards

 

Jade

 

 

FOI Team

NEL

[1][NHS South Kent Coast CCG request email]

 

Kent House, 4th Floor

Station Road, Ashford, TN23 1PJ

 

[2]www.nelcsu.nhs.uk

@NELCSU

LinkedIn

 

 

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir