**THIS IS AN AUTOMATED RESPONSE**
 
Dear Customer,
 
Thank you for your email. We are currently receiving a higher than usual
volume of emails so it may take us a little longer to respond directly to
your email. In the meantime, you may find the following information
helpful.
 
Please note: our normal working hours are 08:00 to 18:00 from Monday to
Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). Emails received at the weekend will not
be reviewed until the next working day.
How can the Customer Contact Centre help me?
NHS England commissions or buys primary care services; for example, GPs,
dentists, opticians, and pharmacy services. We are also responsible for
prison healthcare, military health services, and some specialised
services. We can provide advice about accessing, giving feedback or making
a complaint about these services.
You may be able to find the answer you are looking for in our Frequently
Asked Questions<https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/ho...>
and our website explains how to share feedback or make a
complaint.[1]https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/co...
What if I have an enquiry or complaint about hospital care, NHS 111 or
out-of-hours GP services?
If your enquiry or complaint is about secondary care, this includes
hospitals, NHS 111, mental health services, out-of-hours services and
community services such as district nursing, you will need to contact the
organisation that provided the service. All hospitals have a Patient
Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
[2]https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questio...
. Alternatively, you can contact your local Clinical Commissioning Group
(CCG). You can find their contact details on the NHS
website[3]https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Clinic...
Does the NHS England Customer Contact Centre provide medical advice?
No. Our advisors are not clinically trained and are unable to provide
medical advice. If you require emergency medical attention, dial 999 or
attend your local Accident and Emergency department if you are able to do
so.
If you require non-urgent medical advice please contact your GP, local
walk-in or urgent healthcare centre, or call NHS 111. Calls are free from
landlines and mobile phones.

How do I report a change of name or address?
You should report a change of name or address to your GP practice so they
can update their records. If your new address is outside the practice’s
catchment area you may be asked to register with a new GP practice.
You should also advise your dentist or optician of a change of name or
address as they keep their own records.

Where can I find further information about NHS England?
You can find information about NHS England and our work on our
website[4]https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/
How do you use my information?
NHS England’s privacy notice explains how we use, share and store your
personal information. You can find this on our
website.[5]https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/pr...
NHS England Customer Contact Centre

show quoted sections

**THIS IS AN AUTOMATED RESPONSE**
 
Dear Customer,
 
Thank you for your email. We are currently receiving a higher than usual
volume of emails so it may take us a little longer to respond directly to
your email. In the meantime, you may find the following information
helpful.
 
Please note: our normal working hours are 08:00 to 18:00 from Monday to
Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). Emails received at the weekend will not
be reviewed until the next working day.
How can the Customer Contact Centre help me?
NHS England commissions or buys primary care services; for example, GPs,
dentists, opticians, and pharmacy services. We are also responsible for
prison healthcare, military health services, and some specialised
services. We can provide advice about accessing, giving feedback or making
a complaint about these services.
You may be able to find the answer you are looking for in our Frequently
Asked Questions<https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/ho...>
and our website explains how to share feedback or make a
complaint.[1]https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/co...
What if I have an enquiry or complaint about hospital care, NHS 111 or
out-of-hours GP services?
If your enquiry or complaint is about secondary care, this includes
hospitals, NHS 111, mental health services, out-of-hours services and
community services such as district nursing, you will need to contact the
organisation that provided the service. All hospitals have a Patient
Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
[2]https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questio...
. Alternatively, you can contact your local Clinical Commissioning Group
(CCG). You can find their contact details on the NHS
website[3]https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Clinic...
Does the NHS England Customer Contact Centre provide medical advice?
No. Our advisors are not clinically trained and are unable to provide
medical advice. If you require emergency medical attention, dial 999 or
attend your local Accident and Emergency department if you are able to do
so.
If you require non-urgent medical advice please contact your GP, local
walk-in or urgent healthcare centre, or call NHS 111. Calls are free from
landlines and mobile phones.

How do I report a change of name or address?
You should report a change of name or address to your GP practice so they
can update their records. If your new address is outside the practice’s
catchment area you may be asked to register with a new GP practice.
You should also advise your dentist or optician of a change of name or
address as they keep their own records.

Where can I find further information about NHS England?
You can find information about NHS England and our work on our
website[4]https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/
How do you use my information?
NHS England’s privacy notice explains how we use, share and store your
personal information. You can find this on our
website.[5]https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/pr...
NHS England Customer Contact Centre

show quoted sections

Dear  Mr Tapi,
Thank you for your communication dated 26/11/2020.

NHS England has assessed your communication as a request under the Freedom
of Information (FOI) Act 2000. As such, please be assured that your
request is being dealt with under the terms of the FOI Act and will be
answered within twenty working days.
 

For further information regarding the FOI Act, please refer to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website. For further information
regarding NHS England and the information it publishes please visit our
website here.
 

If you have any queries about this request or wish to contact us again,
please email [1][NHS England request email] and the message will be
forwarded appropriately. Please remember to quote the above reference
number in any future communications.
 

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows:- PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [2][NHS England request email].
 

Yours sincerely, 
 

Freedom of Information
Corporate Communications Team
Transformation and Corporate Operations Directorate
NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT
Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [3][NHS England request email]
‘High quality care for all, now and for future generations’

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Dear Mr Tapi,  

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 26 November
2020.

Your exact request was:

“Please kindly supply me with the following data you may hold; under
authority of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ('FOIA'), s.1, s.3, s.6
and s.8:

1. A full, accurate and complete list of records held by NHS England, and
/or under authority of NHS England, detailing the particular process or
processes for isolating SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) virus, directly sampled from
a symptomatic patient of COVID-19, where the sample specimen is not first
combined with any other genetic material.

2. A current document or statement (provision of a link to relevant trust
website may be acceptable where data is held) detailing the requirements
and conditions for testing COVID-19 patients admitted to NHS trust
hospitals with symptoms or attending a test centre, having been in contact
with a person identified as COVID positive, as at 26 November 2020.

3. In respect of both requests 1 and 2; please kindly provide a full,
accurate and complete record of recorded number of isolation tests for
SARS-COV-2 virus completed on samples directly taken from symptomatic
patients of COVID-19, that gave both positive and negative test result,
through self testing kits and testing completed at trust units.”

NHS England holds some information in relation to your request. For ease
of reference, we will respond to each question in turn.

1. A full, accurate and complete list of records held by NHS England, and
/or under authority of NHS England, detailing the particular process or
processes for isolating SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) virus, directly sampled from
a symptomatic patient of COVID-19, where the sample specimen is not first
combined with any other genetic material.

NHS England does not collect data on the symptomatic status at the time of
swabbing, so we do not hold any data to support the request.

The protocols on isolating genetic material for COVID-19 testing is not
held by the NHS England Testing Cell. This information may, however, be
held by individual hospital Trusts hosting COVID-19 testing laboratories.

As such, you may wish to redirect your enquiry to individual Trusts and
you can find contact information for them on the NHS website at the
following web link:

[1]https://www.nhs.uk/servicedirectories/pa...

2. A current document or statement (provision of a link to relevant trust
website may be acceptable where data is held) detailing the requirements
and conditions for testing COVID-19 patients admitted to NHS trust
hospitals with symptoms or attending a test centre, having been in contact
with a person identified as COVID positive, as at 26 November 2020.

The letter published on 24 June 2020 on the NHS England website details
the position on NHS testing which can be found at the below link:

[2]https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/w...

3. In respect of both requests 1 and 2; please kindly provide a full,
accurate and complete record of recorded number of isolation tests for
SARS-COV-2 virus completed on samples directly taken from symptomatic
patients of COVID-19, that gave both positive and negative test result,
through self testing kits and testing completed at trust units.

NHS England does not collect data linked to the symptomatic status at the
time of swabbing.

COVID-19 testing data is published daily on the government website at the
below link:

[3]https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

Positivity data for PCR testing is also available on the government
website at the below link:

[4]https://www.gov.uk/government/collection...

We hope this information is helpful. However, if you are dissatisfied, you
have the right to ask for an internal review. This should be requested in
writing within two months of the date of this letter. Your correspondence
should be labelled “Internal Review” and should outline your concerns
and/or the area(s) you would like the review to consider. Internal Review
requests should be sent to:

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Email: [5][NHS England request email]

Please quote the reference number FOI-2011-1291153 in any future
communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can be contacted at
the following weblink:
 
[6]https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

Please note there is no charge for making an appeal.

Please be aware that in line with the Information Commissioner’s directive
on the disclosure of information under the FOI Act, your request will be
anonymised and published on our website as part of our disclosure log.

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows: PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [7][NHS England request email].

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information
Communications Team
Office of the Chairs, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer

NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [8][NHS England request email]
 

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