Supply of ICU medicines

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

To whom it may concern,

I wish to make the following requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

Please provide answers to the following requests:

1) Confirm or deny whether disruption to supply of ICU medicines is included as a risk on the Trust’s risk register

2) Confirm or deny whether disruption to supply of noradrenaline is included as a risk on the Trust’s risk register

3) With regards to the above 2 questions:
a. When were the risks put on the register
b. When are they to be reviewed
c. What significance status have they been given. e.g. use of a RAG-rating system

4) Provide the number of safety incidents recorded at your Trust which relate to the preparation and /or the manipulation/mixing of medicines in critical care areas between 1 January 2019 and 1 September 2020
5) Provide the number of safety incidents recorded at your Trust which relate to administration, preparation, and/or the manipulation/mixing of noradrenaline at the bedside between 1 January 2019 and 1 September 2020. Provide details of the reported cases.
6) Confirm or deny if your Trust has taken action to adhere to the guidance published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, titled Safe and Secure Handling of Medicines (December 2018), specifically with regards to appendix C and, “as outlined in the core guidance, manipulation of medicines in clinical areas is minimised and medicines are presented as prefilled syringes or other ‘ready-to-administer’ preparations wherever possible…” https://www.rpharms.com/recognition/sett...
7) Confirm or deny if your Trust subscribes to and follows the guidance provided on IV administration of medication by the MEDUSA injectable medicines guide.
8) Supply evidence of the process the Trust has taken to address the principles outlined in the guidance above, specifically with regards to “the manipulation of medicines in clinical areas is minimised and medicines are presented as prefilled syringes or other ‘ready-to-administer’ preparations…”
9) Confirm or deny whether your Trust is stockpiling ready-to-use or ready-to-administer noradrenaline for the likely increased demand over the next 6 months (stockpiling is defined as retaining medicines with a shelf-life of at least 12 months)

There is a clear public interest for disclosure of this information, in that disclosure will:

* Further the understanding of and participation in the public debate of current medicine issues, and will allow a more informed debate of issues under consideration by public bodies
* Promote accountability and transparency by public authorities for decisions taken by them
* Allow individuals to understand decisions made by public authorities affecting their lives
* Bring to light information on the availability of noradrenaline to be used in an ICU setting in the Trust ahead of the anticipated critical care caseload increase due to winter, COVID-19 resurgence and influenza cases. This demand has been defined by the executive summary by the Academy of Medical Sciences report: Preparing for a challenging winter 2020/21, 14 July 2020. “July and August must be a period of intense preparation for our reasonable worst-case scenario for health in the winter that we set out in this report, including a resurgence of COVID-19, which might be greater than that seen in the spring.”

Further to Section 16 of the Act (duty to provide advice and assistance), if you have any queries relating to these requests or need clarification on any issue, I would be grateful if you could contact me.

I observe the Ministry of Justice's guidance on fees which states: "If a request is particularly wide-ranging, and therefore likely to be expensive to answer, the authority should consider discussing this with the applicant and see if the question could be refined to a more manageable level, or resubmitted in part, to bring it below the appropriate limit." Please contact me if this will be necessary to bring any of these separate requests under the fees limit.

Best wishes

Conor

FREEDOMOFINFORMATION (WEST HERTFORDSHIRE HOSPITALS NHS TRUST), West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Dear Mr Long

Thank you for your Freedom of information request received on 1 October We aim to provide the requested information within 20 working days. Please quote the FOI reference above in any future communication.

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information and Communications Administrator
Communications
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Vicarage Road, Watford WD18 0HB
www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk www.twitter.com/westhertsnhs www.facebook.com/westhertsnhs
Click below to find out

show quoted sections

FREEDOMOFINFORMATION (WEST HERTFORDSHIRE HOSPITALS NHS TRUST), West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Long

Please find attached West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s response to your Freedom of Information request.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information and Communications Administrator
Communications
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Vicarage Road, Watford WD18 0HB
I work Mon- Friday 10 to 2PM
www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk www.twitter.com/westhertsnhs www.facebook.com/westhertsnhs
Click below to find out

show quoted sections