Vulva Biopsy Procedure

The request was successful.

Alison Stevens

Dear University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust,
Please can you answer the following questions under this freedom of information request.
1, what is the hospital policy regarding vulva biopsy, do Patients sign a consent form, to agree to the procedure taking place?
2, can you please provide me with the link relating to the Patient information leaflet,regarding this procedure, if there is one?

Yours faithfully,

Alison Stevens

FOI - Freedom of Information, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

Corporate and Legal Affairs - Trust Administration

Our Reference: GB/FOI/13757

Ms Alison Stevens
([FOI #160755 email])

Dear Ms Stevens,

Request for Information

Thank you for your request for information, as received via email by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust on 9 May 2013. Within UHL NHS Trust, Freedom of Information Act requests are managed centrally by the Trust Administration Team, and I confirm that your request is now being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The Trust will endeavour to provide a response within the required 20 working-day deadline. I will, of course, keep you informed should this not prove possible for any reason. If we require any clarification on your request, we will contact you as soon as possible.

All requesters are advised that the Trust may make a charge for providing the information to them, to cover the cost of photocopying, postage and packaging etc - I confirm that where these costs are below £5.00 in total, no charge will be made. All requesters are also advised that there may also be a charge payable to cover costs of locating the information they have requested, as laid down in the Freedom of Information Act Regulations published by the Government in December 2004. Naturally, if such a charge is to be applied to your request, you will be informed as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Gill Belton
Trust Administrator
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

Information contained in emails may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and confidentiality cannot therefore be guaranteed. Please ensure that all emails are accurate and appropriate, and are retained / deleted in accordance with good practice and any policies of the Trust.

If you are not the intended recipient of this email, please inform the sender, delete the email from your system and destroy any copies you may have made.

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FOI - Freedom of Information, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

1 Attachment

Corporate and Legal Affairs - Trust Administration

Our Reference: GB/FOI/13757

7 June 2013

Ms Alison Stevens
([FOI #160755 email])

Dear Ms Stevens,

Request for Information

Thank you for your email received on 9 May 2013, in which you asked for information regarding vulva biopsy.

For information, the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust is one of the biggest and busiest NHS teaching Trusts in the country incorporating Leicester General Hospital, Glenfield Hospital and Leicester Royal Infirmary. The hospitals are staffed by more than 10,000 people serving around one million people across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, and a further two to three million people from the rest of the UK who come to us for the specialist services we provide. During 2011/12, the Trust treated 1,140,700 (or 3,117 patients per day).

Following discussion with colleagues within the Trust's Women's and Children's Division, I confirm that the Trust holds information covered by your request. The Trust's response is set out after each of your questions below:-

Please can you answer the following questions under this freedom of information request.

1. What is the hospital policy regarding vulva biopsy, do patients sign a consent form to agree to the procedure taking place?

I am advised that there is no specific policy for a vulva biopsy. Patients with suspected vulval cancer are usually referred via the 2 week wait referral system. Such patients would then be seen in clinic and referred for a biopsy at that time if necessary. This procedure is usually undertaken as a day patient case under anaesthetic. Therefore as a surgical procedure, consent is obtained.

In the cases where a biopsy is undertaken in the outpatients department, patients are informed about the procedure and verbal consent is obtained.

2. Can you please provide me with the link relating to the Patient information leaflet, regarding this procedure, if there is one?

The patient information leaflet relates to care following the biopsy - please find a copy of this leaflet attached. There is also patient information relating to vulval cancer, which is accessible via the Trust's website at the following address: http://www.leicesterhospitals.nhs.uk/abo....

I hope that this response is satisfactory and provides you with the information requested (where available). If you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me. If you are dissatisfied with the Trust's response, you can contact the Director of Corporate and Legal Affairs on Tel. No. 0116 258 8615 to request a copy of UHL's Freedom of Information Act complaints procedure.

In the event that you remain dissatisfied with the way in which the Trust has handled any complaint that you may wish to make, we would advise you of your right to complain to the Information Commissioner at the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

We must advise you that where we have provided information we have done so subject to the provisions of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005. Accordingly you must not re-use this information without having the consent of the Trust. Where the Trust is prepared to provide its consent then it may levy a charge for doing so. Should you wish to re-use documents provided then you must make your request in writing stating your name and your address for correspondence together with the document that you wish to re-use and the purpose for which the information is to be re-used.

Yours sincerely,

Gill Belton
Trust Administrator
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

Information contained in emails may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and confidentiality cannot therefore be guaranteed. Please ensure that all emails are accurate and appropriate, and are retained / deleted in accordance with good practice and any policies of the Trust.

If you are not the intended recipient of this email, please inform the sender, delete the email from your system and destroy any copies you may have made.

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Alison Stevens left an annotation ()

They have a Patient information leaflet about care after a post vulva biopsy, why do they not have a leaflet to inform Woman, about the procedure?
The procedure is straightforward, with minimal risk of any contra indications, but can cause anxiety, when Woman do not have a clue about what to expect, not all Woman have use of the internet.