FOI request: Hospital-initiated cancellation of appointments

The request was refused by Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Benjamin Butcher

Hello,

I am requesting information of hospital-initiated cancellation of appointments

1. How many hospital-initiated outpatient appointment cancellations were there in a) 2018, b) 2019, c) 2020, d) 2021 and e) the year to August 8, 2022? Hospital-initiated cancellations is defined as an appointment cancelled by the hospital rather than a patient.

2. How many outpatient appointments faced hospital-initiated cancellations of a) three or more times, b) five or more times and c) ten or more times. Please supply these for the years a) 2018, b) 2019, c) 2020, d) 2021 and e) the year to August 8, 2022.*

3. What is the most an appointment has faced hospital-initiated cancellations in the years a) 2018, b) 2019, c) 2020, d) 2021 and e) the year to August 8, 2022? Please identify the department which cancelled the appointment.*

*For points 2 and 3, I'd like this information to not be limited to repeat cancellations occurring within the same year. For example, if an appointment was cancelled in November 2019, December 2019 and January 2020, this should appear in the stats for 2017 as an appointment cancelled three or more times.

Please get in touch if you have any questions or advise on the request as per Section 16 of the Act.

Many thanks,

Ben Butcher

FreedomofInformation (GREAT WESTERN HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Dear Requestor

I am writing to acknowledge your request that was received today, seeking information relating to Hospital-initiated cancellation of appointments. Thank you for your interest in the Trust.

We are now assessing your request to determine whether we hold the information requested, and to estimate the effort required to locate, retrieve and extract it. Provided that we hold the information and the estimate does not exceed the appropriate limit of £450, then I shall endeavour to collate the information for you and forward it on within 20 working days, in accordance with the Trust’s Publication Scheme guidance under the Act.

Please note the Data Protection statement at the end of this email. If you have any concerns about the Trust recording your contact details securely in our database, please contact me to discuss the arrangements.

If you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Data Protection
Your contact details will be recorded and maintained securely on a database, together with details of your request and the response we give to you. This database is solely for the Trust’s internal use by staff with a need to know. Your contact details will not be transferred outside the Trust.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Team
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Great Western Hospital
Marlborough Road
Swindon SN3 6BB

E: [Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust request email]

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Hello,

I am following up on this FOI request on cancelled appointments with a clarification.

In the initial request there was a typo in the guidance comment (marked with the asterisk *) underneath question 3.

It should read:

“*For points 2 and 3, I'd like this information to not be limited to repeat cancellations occurring within the same year. For example, if an appointment was cancelled in November 2019, December 2019 and January 2020, this should appear in the stats for 2020 as an appointment cancelled three or more times.”

The rest of the FOI request still stands and look forward to your response.

Please get in touch if you have any questions.

Best,

Ben Butcher

FreedomofInformation (GREAT WESTERN HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Good Morning Ben

Please find attached the response to your request.

Best Regards
Carole Sheppard
Freedom of Information Team
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Great Western Hospital
Marlborough Road
Swindon SN3 6BB

E: [Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust request email]

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