Domestic Violence by NHS trust and board

The request was successful.

Dear Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust,

I would like to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act for information relating to your activities with regards to domestic violence.

Could you please tell me:

Do you provide access to an Independent Domestic Abuse Advisor?

If yes, do you provide access to an IDAA at every hospital site?

Do you employ a domestic abuse specialist nurse?

If yes, do you employ a domestic abuse specialist nurse at every hospital site?

Do you have a Domestic Abuse policy?

If yes, please provide a copy.

Do you produce an annual safeguarding report on domestic abuse?

Do you conduct internal audits to ensure compliance to the domestic abuse policy?

Have you conducted training for staff on domestic abuse in the last 12 months. If no, in the last 24 months?

How many domestic abuse, stalking and harassment (DASH) risk assessments were completed by the trust/health board in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020?

How many domestic abuse, stalking and harassment (DASH) referrals were made by the trust/health board to a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020?

Please provide the data for the last two parts of my request in a spreadsheet format.

Please do let me know if I need to amend or clarify my request in any way.

Yours faithfully,

Harriet Clugston

FOI (BLACK COUNTRY HEALTHCARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Dear Claire,

FOI20-4952 Request regarding domestic violence
Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request we are now investigating the nature of the search and the quantity of information requested. Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act it is expected to respond to requests in 20 working day.

The Trust is currently experiencing pressures due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the focus is supporting continued patient care and contact. The Trusts corporate services are focusing on supporting our clinical services and constantly reviewing continuity exercises to maintain a level of NHS services. Due to this we are noticing a delay in gathering a response for information requests, we will ensure that you will receive a response to your request but this is unprecedented times and we need to prioritise our workloads to ensure our frontline patient services are able to continue.

Please be aware there are a number of exemptions within the Act which could stop the release of information. The information will be assessed for these exemptions prior to us releasing the information to you. We will advise you if we are unable to provide the information requested and will confirm the exemption used.

In addition to this, please note that there may be a cost associated to your request in line with section 12 of the Act. If there is a cost associated with your request we will contact you and explain the cost.

In accordance with section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 where multiple requests for information are received from one person or by different persons who appear to be acting in together in a single campaign the estimated cost of complying with any of the requests is to be taken to be the estimated total cost of complying with all of them. To this effect your requests for information will be dealt with under the single reference number above.

If you have any queries I would be grateful if you would contact me so that we can discuss the issues. Details of the complaints procedure will be sent to you should you wish to see them. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are not content with the outcome your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Trust. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Information Governance Team
Email: [Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust request email]
Tel: 0121 612 8037
Fax: 0121 612 3779
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

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Dear FOI (BLACK COUNTRY HEALTHCARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST),

I'm just getting in touch as the response to this request is now overdue and I haven't received any update. Could you please update me on the status of this request?

Yours sincerely,

Harriet Clugston

FOI (BLACK COUNTRY HEALTHCARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

3 Attachments

Dear Claire,

 

FOI20-4952 Request regarding Domestic Abuse

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request on the above
subject and apologies for the delay in sending this to you. We have
completed our search for information and the details are as follows:

 

Do you provide access to an Independent Domestic Abuse Advisor?

Access is via referral to external IDVA services

 

If yes, do you provide access to an IDAA at every hospital site?

Yes via referral to external IDVA services

 

Do you employ a domestic abuse specialist nurse?

No but all SG Practitioners are highly skilled and knowledgeable where DA
is concerned

 

If yes, do you employ a domestic abuse specialist nurse at every hospital
site?

No, but all sites have access to the SG Practitioners who are highly
skilled and knowledgeable where DA is concerned

 

Do you have a Domestic Abuse policy?

Yes, one for DW Division and one for BCP Division. To be aligned as a pan
Trust policy 2021/22

 

If yes, please provide a copy. Please see attached.

 

Do you produce an annual safeguarding report on domestic abuse?

No

 

Do you conduct internal audits to ensure compliance to the domestic abuse
policy?

Future plans for a pan trust audit will be agreed 2021/22

 

Have you conducted training for staff on domestic abuse in the last 12
months. If no, in the last 24 months?

All DW Division clinical and medical staff who are responsible for
planning or delivering patient care are required to undertake Domestic
Abuse Training at either L2 or L3.

 

DW Division Internal provision via Safeguarding Team provides the
training, online learning via ESR, external provision via the Safeguarding
Partnerships.

BCP Division - domestic abuse training is included within Safeguarding
Children & Adult Level 3 training. It's also briefly mentioned in
Safeguarding Children & Adults Levels 1 and 2 (e-Learning)
Each local borough provides some additional DA training offered by the
local authority and the CCG.

 

DW and BCP Divisions - Staff are encouraged to utilise internal and
external training in order to meet their training compliance and enhance
their skills and knowledge in this area.

 

How many domestic abuse, stalking and harassment (DASH) risk assessments
were completed by the trust/health board in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and
2020?

Not all DASH RICs are reported on the incident reporting system as not all
of them will meet the Threshold for onward referral. The incident
reporting system is not an EPR system. Therefore this information is not
available.

 

How many domestic abuse, stalking and harassment (DASH) referrals were
made by the trust/health board to a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment
Conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020?

The question cannot be answered because a DASH RIC is not the means by
which a referral is made to MARAC. They are a tool that measures the risk
to victims that informs a MARAC referral. Not all DASH RICs will convert
to a MARAC referral being made.

 

Please provide the data for the last two parts of my request in a
spreadsheet format.

 

The full Freedom of Information Act 2000 is available on the legislation
website via the following link:
[1]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000.... The Trust is
regarding this response as a full and complete discharge of its
responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to
this request. I trust it fulfils your requirements but should you have any
concerns please do not hesitate to contact me and I will attempt to
resolve your issues.

 

In the event you pursue a complaint/investigation and are not content with
the outcome, you have the option to apply directly to the Information
Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision
unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Trust.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9
5AF.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Information Governance Team

Email: [2][Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust request email]

Tel: 0121 612 8017

Fax: 0121 612 3779

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

 

 

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