NHSI pathology reconfiguration

The request was successful.

Dear Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust,

NHS Improvement wrote to the chief executives of all non-specialist acute trusts in England on or around 7th September 2017 in relation to their proposal for pathology hubs and spokes, which divided English NHS hospitals into 29 groups. Chief executives were required to reply by September 30th 2017, either agreeing to commit resources to forming a pathology hub and spoke with the other trusts defined for them by NHS improvement, or to submit an alternative proposal. In relation to this, please answer the following questions:

a. Has the chief executive of your trust written to confirm their acceptance of the proposal from NHS Improvement

b. If the answer to a) is ‘no’, do they plan to and if so by when?

c. If the answer to a) is ‘no’, has the trust submitted an alternative proposal

d. Are the trust considering (either in alignment with the NHS Improvement proposal, or as an alternative) any solutions which would involve partnerships with or outsourcing (we are excluding the sending of low volume specialist tests to these companies from the definition of outsourcing) to private sector laboratory companies (defined as companies which manage laboratories such as TDL, Sonic, HSL, synlab, Labco, Viapath, and not companies which provide equipment such as Siemens, Abbott laboratories, or Roche)

e. Have the trust, either individually, or collectively with the other trusts in its group, ruled out any form of partnership or outsourcing the management of their laboratories as defined above, for the foreseeable future.

Yours faithfully,

J Graham

Foi.enquiries (GATESHEAD HEALTH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

2 Attachments

Our reference: FoI 2017-18.316

 

Thank you for your request for information held by Gateshead Health NHS
Foundation Trust. 

 

You have requested:

 

NHS Improvement wrote to the chief executives of all non-specialist acute
trusts in England on or around 7th September 2017 in relation to their
proposal for pathology hubs and spokes, which divided English NHS
hospitals into 29 groups.   Chief executives were required to reply by
September 30th 2017, either agreeing to commit resources to forming a
pathology hub and spoke with the other trusts defined for them by NHS
improvement, or to submit an alternative proposal.  In relation to this,
please answer the following questions:

 

a. Has the chief executive of your trust written to confirm their
acceptance of the proposal from NHS Improvement

 

b. If the answer to a) is ‘no’, do they plan to and if so by when?

 

c. If the answer to a) is ‘no’, has the trust submitted an alternative
proposal

 

d. Are the trust considering (either in alignment with the NHS Improvement
proposal, or as an alternative) any solutions which would involve
partnerships with or outsourcing (we are excluding the sending of low
volume specialist tests to these companies from the definition of
outsourcing) to private sector laboratory companies (defined as companies
which manage laboratories such as TDL, Sonic, HSL, synlab, Labco, Viapath,
and not companies which provide equipment such as Siemens, Abbott
laboratories, or Roche)

 

e. Have the trust, either individually, or collectively with the other
trusts in its group, ruled out any form of partnership or outsourcing the
management of their laboratories as defined above, for the foreseeable
future.

 

Your request was received on 02/10/2017, therefore you can expect a reply
by close of business on 30/10/2017 unless we need to contact you to
clarify your request or the balance of the public interest test needs to
be considered.

 

Please find attached a leaflet giving guidance on our procedure for
managing requests covered by FOIA.

 

 

Thank You

Shona Gillespie

Information Governance Support Officer | QE Gateshead

Trust HQ | Queen Elizabeth Hospital | Queen Elizabeth Avenue | Sheriff
Hill | Gateshead |NE9 6SX

T: 0191 445 3465 | E: [1][email address] |
[2]www.qegateshead.nhs.uk

 

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Foi.enquiries (GATESHEAD HEALTH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Dear J Graham,

 

Our reference: FoI 2017-18.316

 

Thank you for your request for information of 02/10/2017, as copied below.
Your request has been considered under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

 

Your request and our response:

 

NHS Improvement wrote to the chief executives of all non-specialist acute
trusts in England on or around 7th September 2017 in relation to their
proposal for pathology hubs and spokes, which divided English NHS
hospitals into 29 groups.   Chief executives were required to reply by
September 30th 2017, either agreeing to commit resources to forming a
pathology hub and spoke with the other trusts defined for them by NHS
improvement, or to submit an alternative proposal.  In relation to this,
please answer the following questions:

 

a. Has the chief executive of your trust written to confirm their
acceptance of the proposal from NHS Improvement

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust’s CEO has responded to NHSI
outlining the CNE health economy workstream on Pathology reconfiguration
and requesting that this be used as the process for ensuring optimal
reconfiguration.

 

b. If the answer to a) is ‘no’, do they plan to and if so by when?

N/A

 

c. If the answer to a) is ‘no’, has the trust submitted an alternative
proposal

N/A

 

d. Are the trust considering (either in alignment with the NHS Improvement
proposal, or as an alternative) any solutions which would involve
partnerships with or outsourcing (we are excluding the sending of low
volume specialist tests to these companies from the definition of
outsourcing) to private sector laboratory companies (defined as companies
which manage laboratories such as TDL, Sonic, HSL, synlab, Labco, Viapath,
and not companies which provide equipment such as Siemens, Abbott
laboratories, or Roche)

No

 

e. Have the trust, either individually, or collectively with the other
trusts in its group, ruled out any form of partnership or outsourcing the
management of their laboratories as defined above, for the foreseeable
future.

This has not yet been considered.

 

We hope that you will find this response helpful.

 

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If you are not happy with the handling of your request, you have the right
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right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted by email at
[2][email address], or post to: Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

 

Thank You

Shona Gillespie

Information Governance Support Officer | QE Gateshead

Trust HQ | Queen Elizabeth Hospital | Queen Elizabeth Avenue | Sheriff
Hill | Gateshead |NE9 6SX

T: 0191 445 3465 | E: [3][email address] |
[4]www.qegateshead.nhs.uk

 

[5]logo-signature[1]

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in this email
and any files transmitted with it is confidential and is intended solely
for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed.  If you are not the
intended recipient you must not copy, distribute, or take any action or
reliance upon it, please notify the sender of their error and delete.  Any
unauthorised disclosure of the information contained in this email is
strictly prohibited.