Patients with dental problems at A&E departments
Hello,
Please can I request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act:
1) In the financial year 2018-19, how many patients presented at your A&E departments (to include major A&E departments, minor injuries units and walk-in centres) with dental health problems?
Of these:
a) Of the patients presenting with dental health problems, how many received treatment at the hospital during that visit?
b) Of the patients presenting with dental health problems, can the numbers please be broken down by type of problem e.g. toothache, loss of teeth, bleeding from the mouth.
c) Of the patients presenting with dental health problems, can the numbers please be broken down by age of the patient e.g. 0-9, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, 80-89, 90+
d) Of the patients presenting with dental health problems, how many were not registered with an NHS dentist?
2) Can we please get the figures above, but for the following financial years (separately):
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2019-20 to Jan 1st 2020.
If the above request cannot be accommodated within cost limits, please can you provide me with advice and assistance on how I may refine my request.
Kind regards,
Claire Wilde
Dear Ms Wilde,
Freedom of Information Act Request Acknowledgment
Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information Office at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We confirm that we have received your correspondence.
Your request below is being considered and you will receive a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days following the date on which the request was received, as defined by the Act, subject to the information not being covered by an exemption or containing reference to a third party.
For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions which may prevent release of some or all of the information you have requested. There will be an assessment and if any of the exemption categories apply then the information will not be released. You will be informed if this is the case, including 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 on whether or not to release some or all of the information to you. You will be informed if this is the case.
There may be a fee payable for this information. This will be considered and you will be informed if as fee is payable. In this event the fee must be paid before the information is processed and released. The 20 working day time limit for responses is suspended until receipt of payment. You will be informed if this is the case.
If you have made a request for information held by the Trust - we will contact you as soon as possible if we need any further information to enable us to answer your request. If we don't need any further information we will respond to you within the statutory timescale of 20 working days following the date on which the request was received.
If you have any further queries or concerns then please do not hesitate to contact us.
With best regards,
Alan Larn.
Alan Larn | communications officer (Freedom of Information) |
Communications Department
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Nethermayne | Essex | SS16 5NL
01268 524900 ext 2992
[Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust request email]
Dear Ms Wilde,
Checking our records, I have found that we do not appear to have sent a response to the request below.
However, I notice that on 29 April, we responded to a similar request covering a different timeframe - our reference 20-001. In that response, we pointed out that we do not have a dental facility here, and that our A&E records do not list precise dental conditions.
If required, I will be happy to return to my colleagues to retrieve such information as we hold in connection with this request. However, before I do so, in the light of the limited information that we will be able to provide, Could you please indicate whether you want us to proceed with this request or close it?
With best regards and our apologies for the time this has taken,
Alan Larn.
Corporate Governance Administrator
Corporate Governance & Membership Services
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Basildon University Hospital, Nethermayne, Basildon, SS16 5NL
Tel: 01268 524900 ext 2992
Hello,
Many thanks for getting in touch.
Yes please, I would still be interested in getting any information held.
I note that you do not have dental facilities, this is precisely why I am interested in how many times people turn up with dental problems.
Many thanks,
Claire Wilde
Dear Ms Wilde,
Thanks for getting back to us. We'll get straight on it and send you what we have as soon as possible.
With best regards,
Alan Larn.
Dear Ms Wilde,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 06 January 2020, which has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
Your request and our responses are as follows:
1) In the financial years 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 to Jan 1st 2020, how many patients presented at your A&E departments (to include major A&E departments, minor injuries units and walk-in centres) with dental health problems?
Our response: 2014-15: figures are not available. The following numbers indicate the numbers of A&E attendances where the word "dental" appears somewhere on the list of reasons for attending.
2015-16: 347; 2016-17: 320; 2017-18: 380; 2018-19: 521; 2019-20 (whole year): 490.
Of these:
a) Of the patients presenting with dental health problems, how many received treatment at the hospital during that visit?
b) Of the patients presenting with dental health problems, can the numbers please be broken down by type of problem e.g. toothache, loss of teeth, bleeding from the mouth.
d) Of the patients presenting with dental health problems, how many were not registered with an NHS dentist?
Our response: As explained before and below, this trust does not provide dental services. Consequently, the information requested above is not recorded, and treatment would be limited to pain relief and possibly administration of antibiotics or initial stitching if there was a large wound resulting in blood loss.
c) Of the patients presenting with dental health problems, can the numbers please be broken down by age of the patient e.g. 0-9, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, 80-89, 90+
Our response: please see attached spreadsheet [19-515.xlsx],
I hope that the response that the Trust has provided is satisfactory. However, if you are dissatisfied with the way in which your Freedom of Information request has been dealt with you can request an internal review. Please email [email address] within 40 working days with clarification of what you would like to be reviewed. We will aim to provide a review response within 20 working days.
If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right under section 50 of the Act to apply to the Information Commissioner to seek resolution to the matter. Further details can be found on their website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/.
Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 – General statement of compliance
The Trust for its part is happy for you to reuse any of the information supplied to you in compliance with the Open Government Licence (OGL) terms: Please click here for further details http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents... . We do not permit the forwarding or sale of staff/departmental contact details and a specific Re-use of Information Regulations request is required for such purposes.
If relevant, you will need the permission of other information owners. This can occur when you receive a document which is co-authored or where the ownership lies with another organisation. Provision under both the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 does not entitle you to re-use the information without appropriate permissions. Use must be in compliance with an Open Government Licence or other agreed terms.
We ask that you take a couple of minutes and complete a short survey in relation to your FOI request. The questions relate to your request and how it was handled and the response received. Click here.
Kind regards,
Alan Larn.
Alan Larn
Corporate Governance Administrator
Freedom of Information
Corporate Governance & Membership Services Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust Basildon University Hospital, Nethermayne, Basildon, SS16 5NL
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now