Deaths of rough sleepers in Brighton and Hove

Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information (FOI) Office at
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.  This is an automated
response that confirms that we have received your correspondence.

If you have requested information under the Freedom of Information Act, we
will now consider your request and reply in due course.  Under the terms
of the Act, the Trust has 20 working days in which to respond.  Some
information however, might be withheld due to exemptions which are allowed
for by the Act.  If this is the case, we will tell you that we have
withheld information and why.

If clarification is required to assist us in identifying and locating the
information you have requested we will contact you.  The 20 working day
clock will then restart once we have received clarification.

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Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Office

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

Dear Sofia Olsson,

Thank you for your request for information made under the Freedom of
Information Act, which was received on 30/10/2017.  Under the terms of the
Act, the Trust will endeavour to respond to your request within 20 working
days.

We will now consider your request and reply more fully in due course. 
Some information, however, might be withheld due to exemptions which are
allowed for by the Act.  If this is the case, we will tell you that we
have withheld information and why.

If clarification is required to assist us in identifying and locating the
information you have requested we will contact you.  The 20 working day
clock will then restart once we have received clarification.

If we can be of any further assistance to you in the meantime, please do
not hesitate to contact the Trust at: [1][BSUH request email].  Please quote
your reference number in any communication with us.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Office

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

References

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1. mailto:[BSUH request email]

Dear Sofia Olsson,

We are writing with regard to your recent request for information under
the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000. 

We will require further clarification before we are able to identify and
locate the information you are seeking.

Your request:

I would like to request data on how many people classified as "homeless"
or "rough sleepers" have died in Brighton and Hove (period: January 2007
to most recent date). I would also like for there to be an explanation for
what criteria was used to classify someone as "homeless" or "rough
sleeper".

I would also like for the cause of death to be specified as well as the
age of the deceased.

Our queries:

BSUH NHS Trust does not hold data regarding all “homeless” people that
have died in Brighton and Hove.  We would only be able to report on those
patients that met the criteria of a “homeless” person and died at the
Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton.  Our data would include the
patient’s age and year of death only.  It is unlikely that we would be
able to report on the cause of death for these patients, since this
information is not held centrally on our systems and would require a
manual audit of all of the relevant patient records.  We would not be
unable to provide this information within the maximum time limit governed
by section 12 exemption (cost limit).  We will provide further information
about the application of this exemption in our final response if
appropriate.

Under section 16 of the Act, the Trust has the responsibility of assisting
applicants with their FOI requests where possible and reasonable to do
so.  We are therefore writing to ask if you still wish to receive the data
we can provide as outlined above, or if you wish to amend your request?

You may wish to contact either NHS Brighton and Hove CCG and/or Brighton
and Hove City Council who may be able to provide more complete data for
homeless people that have died in Brighton and Hove. 

Please note that the 20 working day clock associated with FOI requests
will restart once we have received a response from you.

We look forward to your reply and will respond in due course.  Some
information, however, might be withheld due to exemptions which are
allowed for by the Act. If this is the case, we will tell you that we have
withheld information and why.

In the meantime, if we can be of further assistance please do not hesitate
to contact the Trust at: [1][BSUH request email]

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Office

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[BSUH request email]

Dear Sofia Olsson,

Thank you for your recent request for information under the Freedom of
Information (FOI) Act 2000.

We are now in a position to respond to your request.

Your request:

I would like to request data on how many people classified as "homeless"
or "rough sleepers" have died in Brighton and Hove (period: January 2007
to most recent date). I would also like for there to be an explanation for
what criteria was used to classify someone as "homeless" or "rough
sleeper".

I would also like for the cause of death to be specified as well as the
age of the deceased.

Our response:

Under Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Trust
can confirm that it holds information relevant to your request and this
has been provided where possible below.

For the period 2007 – 30 October 2017, there were 49 “homeless” patients
that died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton.  The criteria for
classifying these patients as “homeless” was any of the following:
patients with no fixed address, patients in hostels or temporary
accommodation, patients registered with a local specialist GP for the
homeless.

Please refer to the table below for a breakdown of this data by year and
age.

Age Of 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 (to Grand
Deceased 30 Oct) Total
23 1 1
26 1 1
28 1 1
29 1 1
30 1 1
34 1 1
36 1 1
39 1 1 2
41 1 1
42 1 1 2
43 1 1 1 2 5
44 1 1 2
45 2 2
46 1 1
48 1 1 2
49 1 1 2
50 1 1
51 1 1 1 3
52 1 1 2
54 1 1 1 3
55 2 1 3
56 1 1
57 1 1
58 1 1
59 1 1
60 1 1 1 3
63 1 1
68 1 1
86 1 1
Grand 2 7 2 4 3 4 2 7 7 6 4 48
Total

The Trust is unable to provide the cause of death of these patients as
this information is not held centrally on our systems and would require an
audit of each individual case.  This would require cross referencing
system data with a manual audit of the 48 relevant patient records.  Such
an endeavour would require considerable research and staff time and is
therefore exempt from disclosure under section 12 exemption (cost limit). 

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust has studied the work
involved in processing your requests for information and has estimated
that the cost of complying with this would exceed the appropriate limit as
set out in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate
Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. The limit set down by the regulations
for public authorities is £450, which amounts to a maximum of 18 hours of
search and retrieval time charged at £25.00 per hour, the hourly rate also
specified in the regulations.

BSUH NHS Trust considers that it would take in excess of 18 hours to
retrieve and extract the information in the format that you have
requested.  Subsequently, it would cost the Trust more than £450, the
limit specified in the regulations. Under section 12 of the Freedom of
Information Act, BSUH NHS Trust is therefore not obliged to provide the
information that you have requested.

You may wish to contact either NHS Brighton and Hove CCG and/or Brighton
and Hove City Council who may be able to provide more complete data for
homeless people that have died in Brighton and Hove.  We are only able to
report on those patients that died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital,
Brighton.

If you require clarification or if we can be of any further assistance to
you, please do not hesitate to contact us at: [1][BSUH request email]   

Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005

The supply of information under the Freedom of Information Act is intended
to be for personal use only and does not automatically give the recipient
the right to commercially re-use it, for example, the right to publish it
or make it available to a wider audience [SI 2005 No: 1515 4(1)].

The Trust provides information under the Freedom of Information Act in
line with the template [2]Open Government Licence for public sector
information.  Should you wish to re-use any information in line with this
Licence then you are not required to take any further action.

The Open Government Licence allows you to re-use information freely and
flexibly, with only a few conditions.  If you wish to re-use information
outside of the Licence terms then please inform the Trust as unauthorised
re-use may be in breach of copyright law.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your enquiry, you have the
right to appeal.  Please email us or write to:

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
Freedom of Information Office

Headquarters, First Floor

St Mary’s Hall, Eastern Road

Brighton BN2 5JJ

If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of your appeal, you can
write to:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545700

We hope that you find the information provided helpful.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Office

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[BSUH request email]
2. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/o...