No. of 'Just in Case ' boxes issued in the UK since roll out of the End of Life Care pathway.
Dear Health and Social Care Information Centre,
This is an FOI request, formerly submitted to NHS England (here: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/j...), and the Department of Health (here: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/1...) who said they did not know, could not find out, and that you held this information.
The 'anticipatory prescribing' of controlled drugs in 'Just in Case 'boxes, left at the home of patients being cared for by palliative care teams is a feature of NHS End of Life Care.
Controlled drugs can only be issued to named patients by prescription, by registered Pharmacists, and records must be kept of the total amounts issued, the amounts used, and the amounts witnessed as destroyed or returned to the issuing Pharmacist.
Q.1.Can you provide a figure for the total number of 'Just in Case' boxes issued, either by GPs or by Palliative Care teams in the UK (individual figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland if possible), to patients being cared for either in their own homes, or in a nursing/care home environment, either by GPs or hospital /community palliative care services, between 2003 -2013, or indicate where these data should have been centrally located and available for inspection under prevailing Controlled Drug regulations”
If you cannot provide a figure, can you detail why you are unable to compute one from available sources, as it seems to indicate no one is able to state how many patients have been put on 'end of life care pathways' without their informed consent,which is wilful neglect manslaughter under prevailing UK law.”
Thank you.
Ref: NIC-254229-Q1T1K
Dear Mr Probst,
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Act, is available from the Information Commissioner's Office, Wilmslow,
Cheshire and on the HSCIC's website.
Kind Regards,
Contact Centre Team
Health and Social Care Information Centre
Vantage House
40 Aire Street
Leeds
LS1 4HT
0845 300 6016
Email: [1][HSCIC request email]
[2]http://www.hscic.gov.uk
Ref: NIC-254229-Q1T1K
Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for your enquiry. Please see the following response from our
Information Governance team:
Thank you for your request for information dated 3rd March 2014.
For your correspondence to be treated as a valid request under the Freedom
of Information Act we need to have your real name. The real name has been
defined in ICO guidance as “title and/or first name with surname satisfies
the requirement for provision of a real name”
Please find below a link ICO guidance regarding ‘How to access information
from a public body’ which details the legal requirements for a request:
[1]http://ico.org.uk/for_the_public/officia...
It should be noted that your request will now be marked as closed on our
internal recording systems. A new reference number will be allocated
if/when we receive confirmation of the above. We will ensure that your
enquiries are linked and that you receive a full response as soon as
possible.
Kind Regards,
Sylvia Rees
Contact Centre Team
Health and Social Care Information Centre
1 Trevelyan Square
Boar Lane
Leeds
LS1 6AE
0845 300 6016
Email: [2][HSCIC request email]
[3]http://www.hscic.gov.uk
Dear Health and Social Care Information Centre,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Health and Social Care Information Centre's handling of my FOI request 'No. of 'Just in Case ' boxes issued in the UK since roll out of the End of Life Care pathway.'.
[ What do you mean? This is my real name! You are simply lying down on your job! ]
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/n...
Yours faithfully,
Christoph Probst
Ref: NIC-260918-T7P0Q
Dear Christoph Probst,
I am writing to acknowledge that your request for information was received
by The Health and Social Care Information Centre on 31/03/2014 and is
currently being considered.
If The HSCIC is able to provide you with the information you have
requested, then under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act you are
entitled to receive it promptly and in any event no later than the 20th
working day following the date of receipt. However, we may need to contact
you to clarify your request, if this is required we aim to do this
promptly but no later than 7 days after receiving your initial request for
information.
May I take this opportunity to explain the FOI Act in more detail. The Act
provides a 'General right of access to information held by public
authorities. However, it also defines a number of exemptions which may
prevent the release of some or all of the information you have requested.
Therefore, the HSCIC will assess your information request in light of any
relevant exemptions.
If exemptions do apply, then the HSCIC may decide not to release all, or
part, of the information you have requested. I shall inform you if this is
the case, and advise you of your rights of appeal.
If the information you request contains reference to a third party then
they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken as to whether to
release the information to you.
The response to your request will be sent to you by email, however if you
require your response in any other format, please contact me to discuss a
suitable format.
The HSCIC will not normally charge a fee to provide you with the
information you have requested, unless the cost of dealing with your
request is more than £450 as outlined in Section 12 of the FOI Act and
Section 3 of the The FOI and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)
Regulations 2004. If it appears likely that your request will cost more,
then the HSCIC is able to refuse to supply the information. As per our
obligations under Section 16 of the FOI Act, every effort will be made to
provide you with details of how you may be able to reframe your request in
order for us to complete the required work within the (£450 / 18 person
hours) cost limit.
If you have any queries or should you wish to make a compliant about the
manner in which your request is being processed then please do not
hesitate to contact me at the above address in the first instance. Any
complaints will be investigated in accordance with the HSCIC complaints
procedure.
Further information about your rights under the Freedom of Information
Act, is available from the Information Commissioner's Office, Wilmslow,
Cheshire and on the HSCIC's website.
Kind Regards,
Contact Centre Team
Health and Social Care Information Centre
Vantage House
40 Aire Street
Leeds
LS1 4HT
0845 300 6016
Email: [1][HSCIC request email]
[2]http://www.hscic.gov.uk
Ref: NIC-260918-T7P0Q
Dear Mr Probst,
Many thanks for your recent Freedom of Information request.
We have now received a reply to this from our colleagues in the
Information Governance team.
Please see the attached file.
Hope this helps.
Kind Regards,
Matthew Norridge
Contact Centre Team
Health and Social Care Information Centre
1 Trevelyan Square
Boar Lane
Leeds
LS1 6AE
0845 300 6016
Email: [1][HSCIC request email]
[2]http://www.hscic.gov.uk
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