Support for children who are suicidal
Dear FOI officer,
I should like to request the following information about the emotional support and crisis services available to people under the age of 18 in Luton, which falls within the geographical remit of your organisation.
I would like to find out the following information about the services that you are commissioned to deliver in Luton to people under the age of 18 who are experiencing emotional distress and/or who are at risk of attempting suicide:
• Inclusion/exclusion criteria
• How the service is accessed, i.e. open access, self-referral, third party referral
• Channels of support, e.g. telephone, email, text, webchat, face-to-face, and types of location if face-to-face
• Opening hours/availability
• Type of support provided, i.e. structured therapeutic counselling, peer support, helpline
• If support is provided to parents or carers
• Length of support offered
• If the support is provided by paid employees, freelance/contract staff, volunteers.
• Intended outcomes for the service
• Number of people under 18 that can be supported i) at any one time and/or ii) in any given twelve month period
• Where relevant, number of people under 18 that have been referred to the service in the most recent reporting period (quarter or year)
• Number of people under 18 supported in the most recent reporting period (quarter or year)
For each service, I would also like to request a copy of their:
• Safeguarding policy
• Confidentiality policy
• Position statement on self-determination, decision making and choice
I should prefer to receive these in electronic format at this email address, however, I am happy to receive them by post if that is more convenient.
It would be helpful if you were to provide any brief notes which might be necessary to understand the context of the information provided, although I recognise that you are not obliged to do this. If for any reason you feel this request is unclear, please do not hesitate to contact me on 07866 105 093. If you are not the appropriate authority for this request, or for part of it, please let me know as soon as is convenient.
If the information requested contains sections of confidential information, please blank out or remove these sections, and mark clearly that they have been removed.
Thank you for your help.
Kind regards,
Jennifer Holly
Information Governance Department
Charter House
7 Alma Street
Luton
LU1 2PJ
Email: [East London NHS Foundation Trust request email]
Our Ref: FOI DA4413
Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request received by the Trust on 17 October 2022.
Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will be answered within twenty working days. For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions which may prevent release of the information you have requested. There will be an assessment and if any of the exemption categories apply then it will not be released. You will be informed if this is the case.
If the information you request was obtained from or relates to a third party then they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to release the information to you.
In some cases there may be a fee payable for the information requested. This will be considered and you will be informed of the fee payable if this is the case. In this event the fee must be paid before the information is processed and released. The 20 day time limit for responses is put on hold until receipt of the payment. If you have any queries about this request do not hesitate to contact us. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
Whilst we will make every effort to respond to your request within the statutory timeframe of 20 working days, it may not be possible to respond on time due to the pressures of COVID 19 and the need to ensure the well-being of our staff and service users. We will write to you if we anticipate a delay and hope in advance that you will accept our apologies if this should occur.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Team
East London NHS Foundation Trust
If you are dissatisfied with the Trust’s response to your FOIA request then you should contact us and we will arrange for an internal review of this decision. If you remain dissatisfied with the decision following our response to your complaint, you may write to the Information Commissioner for a decision under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113
Web: www.ico.org.uk
Dear Ms Holly,
Please find attached the Trust’s response to your Freedom of Information
request.
Kind regards,
Keshia Harvey
Information Governance Manager
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