Requirement on Trusts / CCGs to offer alternatives to patients waiting over six months for elective treatment

Barts Health NHS Trust did not have the information requested.

Dear Barts Health NHS Trust,

In the 'NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance 2019/20' there is a new requirement on NHS Trusts and CCGs as follows:

"Patients will continue to have choice at the point of referral and for 2019/20 new local arrangements must be put in place so that anyone who has been waiting for six months or longer must be specifically contacted by the provider on whose waiting list they appear or by the responsible CCG and given the option of faster treatment at an alternative provider."

Please provide the folloing information:
1 - Is this new requirement included in your patient access policy? Please provide a copy of your current patient access policy.
2 - Do you record compliance against this new requirement?
3 - How many patients have been offered faster treatment at an alternative provider in the three months of 2019/20 Quarter 1?
4 - How many patients have accepted a transfer to an alternative provider in the three months of 2019/20 Quarter 1?
5 - What action are you taking to deal with the backlog of referrals over 26 weeks?

Yours faithfully,

George Donald

BARTSHEALTH, Foi (BARTS HEALTH NHS TRUST), Barts Health NHS Trust

Dear Mr Donald

Your Request for Information: FOI-0534-19

Thank you for your recent request for information. This will be processed in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and you will receive a response within the stipulated timescale.

The FOI Act defines a number of exemptions which may prevent the release of the information you have requested. We will assess the material and if any of the exemption categories apply, then the information may not be released. We will tell you if that is so. If the information you request refers to a third party then they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to release the information to you. We will let you know if that is the case and give you an indication of the timescale for providing the information. There may be a fee payable for the information you have requested. The fee must be paid before the information is released. We will inform you if this is the case.

Information that we may provide in response to the Freedom of Information Act request will be subject to copyright protection. You may ask if you can re-use the information, perhaps for commercial purposes. Without the necessary permission you can breach our copyright. To enquire about re-using Trust information, please write to us at the above address or e-mail [Barts Health NHS Trust request email]

If you have any queries then please contact us at [Barts Health NHS Trust request email]

If you are dissatisfied on how your request has been handled, you can complain in writing to The Information Governance Manager, Barts Health NHS Trust: E-mail [Barts Health NHS Trust request email]

Postal address:
The Information Governance Manager,
c/o Archives and Records Centre,
Barts Health NHS Trust,
Lower Ground Floor,
9 Prescot Street,
Aldgate, London E1 8PR

If, after we have addressed your complaint, you remain dissatisfied with how we have responded, you are entitled to appeal to the Information Commissioner (Tel: 01625 545 745). Details are shown at www.ico.org.uk.

Yours faithfully,

Maria Björklund
Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
Barts Health NHS Trust
9 Prescot Street
London, E1 8PR

T: 020 7480 4866
Website: www.bartshealth.nhs.uk
[Barts Health NHS Trust request email]

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Dear BARTSHEALTH, Foi (BARTS HEALTH NHS TRUST),

The response to this FOI request is now long overdue.

Do you have a response to this FOI request please?

Yours sincerely,

George Donald

BARTSHEALTH, Foi (BARTS HEALTH NHS TRUST), Barts Health NHS Trust

Dear Mr Donald,

Your request is still being dealt with and we will get back to you soon.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Chantelle Ahenkorah
Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
Barts Health NHS Trust
9 Prescot Street
London, E1 8PR

T: 020 7480 4866
Website: www.bartshealth.nhs.uk
[Barts Health NHS Trust request email]
[email address]

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Dear BARTSHEALTH, Foi (BARTS HEALTH NHS TRUST),

This FOI request is now long overdue, by law the Trust should have responed by now.

Do you have a response to this FOI request please?

Yours sincerely,

George Donald

BARTSHEALTH, Foi (BARTS HEALTH NHS TRUST), Barts Health NHS Trust

Dear Mr Donald

We sincerely apologise for the delay in responding to your request. We aim to respond shortly.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
Barts Health NHS Trust
9 Prescot Street
London, E1 8PR

T: 020 7480 4866
Website: www.bartshealth.nhs.uk
[Barts Health NHS Trust request email]

Please note our new Freedom of Information email address – [Barts Health NHS Trust request email]

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BARTSHEALTH, Foi (BARTS HEALTH NHS TRUST), Barts Health NHS Trust

Dear George Donald

I am writing to apologise for the extended delay in responding to your Freedom of Information request. We aim to answer all requests within 20 working days but have experienced delays getting the information that you have requested.

The Trust are committed to transparency and have invested some additional resource within our FOI team to help gather the information for requests that have become overdue. We would like to make sure that we are focusing on requests where the information is still needed.

I would appreciate confirmation if you still require this information or if you would like to withdraw the request.

If I do not hear from you by 26 September 2020 I will assume you no longer need this information on this occasion and will close this request. Please note that you are able to narrow the scope of your request, but any additional information that you require would need to be submitted as a new FOI.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me at [Barts Health NHS Trust request email]

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
Barts Health NHS Trust
9 Prescot Street
London, E1 8PR

T: 020 7480 4866
Website: www.bartshealth.nhs.uk
[Barts Health NHS Trust request email]

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Dear BARTSHEALTH, Foi (BARTS HEALTH NHS TRUST),

Thank you for this reply.

The request has been overtaken by Coronavirus and the Covid-19 measures. I am happy to withdraw the request.

Yours sincerely,

George Donald

BARTSHEALTH, Foi (BARTS HEALTH NHS TRUST), Barts Health NHS Trust

Thank you for your email.
Please be aware that the Trust may take longer than usual to respond to
your request as we are anticipating increasing operational pressures due
to Covid19.

If you decide that you no longer require the information that you have
requested, we would encourage you to withdraw your request so that our
team can focus on other requests and our services can focus on other work.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Team
Corporate Affairs
Barts Health NHS Trust

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BARTSHEALTH, Foi (BARTS HEALTH NHS TRUST), Barts Health NHS Trust

Dear George Donald

Thank you for confirming that you are withdrawing your request.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
Barts Health NHS Trust
9 Prescot Street
London, E1 8PR

T: 020 7480 4866
Website: www.bartshealth.nhs.uk
[Barts Health NHS Trust request email]

Please note our new Freedom of Information email address – [Barts Health NHS Trust request email]

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