Freedom of Information Request Acknowledgement

Thank you for your request which was received by us on 26th January 2024

Under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 we are required to provide a response within 20 working days.

We will advise you if we do not hold the information requested or if an exemption applies. Your request has been given the reference number FOI 24-22124

Your request for information may be delayed due to urgent operational responses to dealing with Public Health priorities. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, we do remain committed to responding to your request and will respond as soon as we are able.

Jessica

FOI Team
Cedar House
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Hardwick Lane|Bury St Edmunds|SUFFOLK|IP33 2QZ
Requests received after 3pm will be logged the following working day

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Freedom of Information Response.

Thank you for your email dated the 26^th January 2024 in which you asked
for

1) How many Physician Associates are currently employed by your
organisation?

2) Please provide copies of any policies regarding physician associates in
your organisation. For example, policies regarding the scope of practice,
clinical procedures, governance, supervision and appraisal processes for
physician associates.

3) Please provide details of any patient safety incidents (reported via
Datix or other internal patient safety reporting systems) where the
clinician involved was a Physician Associate. Where possible, please
include a breakdown of these incidents by year, severity and
categorisation (e.g., department, nature of the incident, patient harm,
outcome, organisational response etc).

We are now in a position to provide a full reply to your request. Please
see attached.

Kind regards

FOI Team

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Hardwick Lane|Bury St Edmunds|SUFFOLK|IP33 2QZ

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solely for the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you
have
received this in error, you should not disseminate or copy this email.
Please notify the sender immediately and delete this email from your
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Please also note that any opinions presented in this email are solely
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NHS Foundation Trust. Email transmission cannot be guaranteed to be
secure,
or error free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost,
destroyed, late in arriving or incomplete as a result of the transmission
process. By communicating with the Trust by email you accept these risks.
The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions
in the contents of this message which arise as a result of email
transmission.

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Dear Michael Bridger

FOI Ref:24-22124

Thank you for your email dated 8th March 2024 in which you ask for an internal review of our response to your Freedom of Information request.

We will aim to send you a full response by 9th April 2024, which is twenty working days from the date when we received your request.
If you have any questions about the handling of your information request in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards
FOI Team

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Freedom of Information Internal Review Response.

Thank you for your email dated the 8^th March 2024 in which you asked for

While I appreciate the challenges associated with retrieving information
that is not centrally recorded by job title/role, I kindly request that
your organisation consider alternative methods to facilitate the provision
of this information. Under the FOI Act 2000, public authorities are
required to advise and assist requesters as far as it is reasonable to do
so. To this end, I ask you to perform a free text search of your patient
safety incident reports using keywords related to Physician Associates
(e.g., "Physician Associate," "PA", "Physicians Associate"). All incident
reporting systems provide the ability to perform electronic free text
searches. This approach will provide a rapid way to identify any safety
incidents and for you to provide the data within the Section 12 cost
limit.

We are now in a position to provide a full reply to your request. Please
see attached.

Kind regards

FOI Team

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Hardwick Lane|Bury St Edmunds|SUFFOLK|IP33 2QZ

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Scanned by Trustwave SEG - Trustwave's comprehensive email content
security solution.

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

This message and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended
solely for the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you
have
received this in error, you should not disseminate or copy this email.
Please notify the sender immediately and delete this email from your
system.
 
Please also note that any opinions presented in this email are solely
those
of the author and do not necessarily represent those of West Suffolk 
NHS Foundation Trust. Email transmission cannot be guaranteed to be
secure,
or error free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost,
destroyed, late in arriving or incomplete as a result of the transmission
process. By communicating with the Trust by email you accept these risks.
The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions
in the contents of this message which arise as a result of email
transmission.

This footnote also confirms that, unless otherwise stated, this email
message has been swept by Sophos Anti-virus for the presence of computer
malware including viruses and spyware.

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