Prescribing of Benzodiazepine's and Patient Ethnicity

Dear Sir or Madam,

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000/ Freedom of Information Act (Scotland) 2002.

I am currently undertaking research into Benzodiazepine use and Ethnicity so Attached for your reference in the appendix of this email is a list of the Benzodiazepines including 'Z'-drugs I am interested in by chemical name and their brand name.

So please can you send me the following information.

Primarily I'm interested in:

1) The prescription information which you have pertaining to each drug and corresponding to the ethnicity of the patient.

Please can you examine all in-patient prescription charts* in the South London and Maudsley National Health Service (NHS) Trust and identify the patients who have prescribed, and their ethnic origin.

Secondarily I would also be interested in their prescribed dosage.

and lastly their statistical age breakdown and gender
(if possible)

nb: or However the data is stored, as most recent at a minimum possible for at least for the past year

I am happy to have the above information provided to me in electronic format (Either an excel sheet, word file or .pdf)

Yours faithfully,

Mr S.Bartle

I am unsure which format you choose to search by so I have listed
them by both Chemical and Brand name.

LISTED BY CHEMICAL NAME

Bromazepam Chlordiazepoxide Clobazam clorazepatepotassium
Clonazepam Diazepam flunitrazepam Flurazepam medazepam Nitrazepam
Prazepam Loprazolam Lorazepam Lormetazepam Temezepam Alprazolam
Oxazepam Triazolam Ketazolam Zolpidem Zopiclone Zalepon

LISTED BY BRAND NAME

Lexotan Librium Tropium Libritas Limitrol (Chlordiazepoxide
combined with amitriptyline) Frisium Tranxene Klonopin Alupram
Atensine Evacalm Solis Dialar Tensium Stesolid Valclair Valium
Diazemuls Sedapum Valrelease Rohypnol Dalmane Nobrium Mogadon
Nitrados Noctesed Remnos Somnite Surem Unisomnia Centrax Dormonoct
Almazine Ativan Noctamid Normison Euhypnos Xanax Oxanid Serenid-d
Serax Serenid Forte Halcion Anxon Stilnoct Ambien Zimovane Sonata

Aldous, Win, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Information Governance Office

Clinical Records-CR1

Maudsley Hospital

Denmark Hill

London SE5 8AZ

Email: [South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust request email]

19 August 2009

Dear S Bartle,

RE: Your Information Request

Thank you for your request for information about the prescribing of
Benzodiazepines, which we received on 13^th August 2009. You requested us
to go through all inpatient prescription charts in the South London &
Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and identify those, who have been prescribed
Benzodiazepines, the prescribed dosage, their ethnicity, age and gender.

I regret to inform you that your request is as extensive as a considerable
size research project rather than a Freedom of Information request as we
would need to go through a large volume of patient records to provide this
information. South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has more than
1200 inpatients at a given time. In the last 5 years, the Trust has
provided inpatient services to more than 12000 patients. If we were to
allocate the resources required to process your request, the cost of
processing your request would exceed the appropriate limit set by the
Ministry of Justice. This amount is £450 for the NHS.

If you have any queries about this letter, or if you are unhappy with the
service you have received in relation to your request or request a review
of our decision, please contact the Information Governance Office.

If you are not content with the outcome of a local resolution, you may
then apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the local procedures
provided by South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at The Information Commissioner*s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Win Aldous

ICT Auditor

.

Dear Win,
Would it be possible to narrow my request to say the patients you have there within the past month or so?
Maybe even within a certain area?

Primarily looking at ethnicity?

Many Thanks

S.Bartle

Aldous, Win, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Information Governance Office

Clinical Records-CR1

Maudsley Hospital

Denmark Hill

London SE5 8AZ

Email: [South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust request email]

3 September 2009

Dear Mr S Bartle

Thank you for your request for information about the prescribing of
Benzodiazepines related to Ethnicity. In response to your request, which
we received on 27^th August 2009 we regret to inform you that we are
unable to respond to your request for information.

The information you requested would require us to go into individual
patient records. The information in patient records is for direct
healthcare delivery. If they are going to be used for another purpose, we
would need to seek additional permission from the patients for the use of
their information for that specific purpose. Your request, even when it is
narrowed down, would be classified as a clinical audit. In South London
and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, you would need to follow specific
procedures and would require the approval of relevant clinical governance
and information governance committees. We are in the belief that such
information requests is not in the spirit of the Freedom of Information
Act (2000).

If you have any queries about this letter or if you are unhappy with the
service you have received in relation to your request or request a review
of our decision, please contact the Information Governance Office.

If you are not content with the outcome of a local resolution, you may
then apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the local procedures
provided by South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at The Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Win Aldous

ICT Auditor

.

C Ford left an annotation ()

I think they can pull out anonymised information for the institute of psychiatry.