Pregnancy and homelessness

The request was partially successful.

Hello,

’m a reporter with Newsquest’s Data Investigations Unit. I’m currently looking into issues around homelessness and pregnancy.

I’m hoping to acquire more information about pregnant women attending obstetrics/maternity/antenatal care appointments within your Trust who declared themselves homeless – whether rough sleeping, in temporary accommodation, with no fixed address or sofa surfing.

I’d like full disclosure of data as outlined below and would appreciate your advice and direction, as specified under the Freedom of Information Act, if you feel there’s a way of better refining my request to allow you to retrieve the information I’m interested in.

1. How many pregnant women presenting for initial obstretics/maternity/antenatal care appointments within your Trust declared themselves as homeless or with no fixed address between 2015 and 2019? Please breakdown by year.

2. How many of those pregnant women still declared themselves as homeless or had no fixed address upon being admitted to a labour ward to give birth?

3. For 1 and 2, if the information is available, please breakdown the numbers of women to specify how many were rough sleepers, how many were in temporary accommodation (please give numbers for hostels, B&Bs, refuges or other), or with no fixed address.

4. Please also provide figures for the outcomes of pregnancies for homeless women, broken down by the number that ended with a live birth, the number that underwent terminations, the number that had miscarriages and the number that were stillborn.

5. Please indicate age groups for the number of pregnant women who declared themselves homeless – whether under 20, 20-30, 30-40 or 40+.

6. How many of those who were pregnant had their child removed from their care at birth?

Please disclose your response in an Excel spreadsheet, with headings, where appropriate, as follows:

‘TRUST’ - ‘YEAR’ - ‘NUMBER HOMELESS AT INITIAL APPOINTMENT’ - ‘NUMBER LIVING IN HOSTELS’ - ‘LIVING IN B&B’ - 'ROUGH SLEEPING' - ‘LIVING IN REFUGE’ - ‘WITH NFA’ – ‘STILL HOMELESS WHEN ADMITTED TO LABOUR WARD FOR DELIVERY’ – ‘LIVING IN HOSTEL AT TIME OF DELIVERY’- ‘B&B AT TIME OF DELIVERY’ – REFUGE AT TIME OF DELIVERY – NFA AT TIME OF DELIVERY – NO OF LIVE BIRTHS – NO OF TERMINATIONS – NO OF MISCARRIAGES – NO STILLBIRTHS – AGE UNDER 20 – AGE 20-30 – AGE 30-40 – AGE 40+ - NO OF BABIES REMOVED FROM MOTHER’S CARE

If you identify any problems with this request, as mentioned, I’d appreciate advice, assistance and guidance as to how I can refine it to ensure I get as full a disclosure as is possible.

If there is any reason why you cannot provide every element of disclosure requested, please provide as much as you are able.

Yours faithfully,

Joanna Morris

FOI, Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

This is an acknowledgement of your email.   

Thank you for your information request which we will consider under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 and respond to you within the specified
timescales.

Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Musgrove Park

Taunton

TA1 5DA

 

telephone number: 01823 343692

email address:  [Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust request email]

 

 

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FOI, Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

2 Attachments

 

  Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Musgrove Park
Hospital                                                         
Taunton

                                                      
Somerset                                                        TA1 5DA

 

Direct telephone number: 01823 320 452

Email address: [Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust request email]
   

 

   

24 October 2019  

   

Our ref:   

   

 

FOI2019\0584

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

I am writing to confirm that the Taunton & Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
has now been able to consider the information requested and its disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

The information requested and its response is as follows:

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  |
| |
|I’m hoping to acquire more information about pregnant women attending |
|obstetrics/maternity/antenatal care appointments within your Trust who |
|declared themselves homeless – whether rough sleeping, in temporary |
|accommodation, with no fixed address or sofa surfing. |
| |
|  |
| |
|I’d like full disclosure of data as outlined below and would appreciate |
|your advice and direction, as specified under the Freedom of Information|
|Act, if you feel there’s a way of better refining my request to allow |
|you to retrieve the information I’m interested in. |
| |
|  |
| |
|1.How many pregnant women presenting for initial |
|obstretics/maternity/antenatal care appointments within your Trust |
|declared themselves as homeless or with no fixed address between 2015 |
|and 2019? Please breakdown by year. |
| |
|  |
| |
|<5 in total for date range |
| |
|  |
| |
|2. How many of those pregnant women still declared themselves as |
|homeless or had no fixed address upon being admitted to a labour ward to|
|give birth? |
| |
|  |
| |
|<5 in total for date range |
| |
|  |
| |
|3. For 1 and 2, if the information is available, please breakdown the |
|numbers of women to specify how many were rough sleepers, how many were |
|in temporary accommodation (please give numbers for hostels, B&Bs, |
|refuges or other), or with no fixed address. |
| |
|  |
| |
|<5 No fixed abode. |
| |
|  |
| |
|4. Please also provide figures for the outcomes of pregnancies for |
|homeless women, broken down by the number that ended with a live birth, |
|the number that underwent terminations, the number that had miscarriages|
|and the number that were stillborn. |
| |
|Due to the small numbers of individuals involved, identification of the |
|total number may identify individuals. |
| |
|The Trust has obligations to protect the personal information of |
|individuals under the Data Protection Act.  Therefore there is an |
|exemption on disclosure of information which we feel is the personal |
|information of identifiable individuals. |
| |
|The Trust believes that any detailed information would be personal data |
|as defined by Section 1(1) of the DPA as it relates to an identifiable |
|individual.  Therefore the information you requested is personal data as|
|described in section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. |
| |
|  |
| |
|5. Please indicate age groups for the number of pregnant women who |
|declared themselves homeless – whether under 20, 20-30, 30-40 or 40+. |
| |
|Due to the small numbers of individuals involved, identification of the |
|total number may identify individuals. |
| |
|The Trust has obligations to protect the personal information of |
|individuals under the Data Protection Act.  Therefore there is an |
|exemption on disclosure of information which we feel is the personal |
|information of identifiable individuals. |
| |
|The Trust believes that any detailed information would be personal data |
|as defined by Section 1(1) of the DPA as it relates to an identifiable |
|individual.  Therefore the information you requested is personal data as|
|described in section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. |
| |
|6. How many of those who were pregnant had their child removed from |
|their care at birth? |
| |
|Due to the small numbers of individuals involved, identification of the |
|total number may identify individuals. |
| |
|The Trust has obligations to protect the personal information of |
|individuals under the Data Protection Act.  Therefore there is an |
|exemption on disclosure of information which we feel is the personal |
|information of identifiable individuals. |
| |
|The Trust believes that any detailed information would be personal data |
|as defined by Section 1(1) of the DPA as it relates to an identifiable |
|individual.  Therefore the information you requested is personal data as|
|described in section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. |
| |
|  |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

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Yours faithfully

 

 

 

 

Louise Coppin

 

 

 

 

Louise Coppin

Head of Information Governance and

Data Protection Officer

 

 

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