Dear Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust,

I understand that the Trust follows guidance as set out in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 in regards to dealing with a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises.

1. Would you please confirm whether or not Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust still follows the guidance on provisions to deal with nuisance or disturbance behaviour on NHS premises in England V2 issued by NHS Protect in March 2012?

http://www. dynamis.training/wp-content/uploads/CJIA_guidance_v2_-_March_2012.pdf

[copy and paste removing the space after www. ]

Yours faithfully,

Mr Tobe Hayden Leigh

Dear FOI (SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST),

Seeing as it such a simple request, i presume that you will not need to take until the 9th December to answer this reasonable question?

I would like to believe you could provide me with the response sooner?

Yours sincerely,

Tobe

Dear Jeanette (SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST),

Thank you for your reply confirming document is still in force, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells MTW Trust also confirms this in their FOI where they stated :

'The Trust follows the guidance as set out in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and guidance on provisions to deal with nuisance or disturbance behaviour on NHS premises in England V2 issued by NHS Protect in March 2012.'

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...

I do not believe you have answered my request satisfactorily and would like further clarification on the following so as to avoid an internal review, which i'm sure you will be able to answer

Where you state:

"The Trust does still refer to the guidance mentioned above to deal with nuisance or
disturbance behaviour on the Trust’s premises. The document is now 9 years old and
some of its detail may be out of date, but its principles remain relevant in how we
interpret the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008."

Please provide me with:

1. Details of what part of the document the trust refers to that 'may be out of date'.
2. Details of the appointment process of authorised officers within in each trust and the positions they hold.
3. What process do you rely upon to ascertain whether someone is causing a nuisance/disturbance on NHS premises before contacting the police?

Where you state:

"Please note that there is other guidance available, notably from the NHS Constitution
also published in 2012, with guidance in 2013, which provides (Section 3b) a
responsibility to patients and the public to “Please treat NHS staff and other patients with
respect and recognise that violence, or the causing of nuisance or disturbance on NHS
premises, could result in prosecution. You should recognise that abusive and violent
behaviour could result in you being refused access to NHS services.”

Please provide me with:

3. The 2012 NHS Constitution link or documents you refer to.
4. The 2013 Guidance link or documents you refer to.

Yours sincerely,

Tobe

Dear Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust's handling of my FOI request 'Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust Guide to dealing with nuisance or disturbance'.

If you had answered the questions in its entirety in the first instance there would have been no need for a delay or indeed for you open up another FOI further delaying a conclusion to this simple request.

You have been evasive from the start of my requests and i fail to comprehend why, my only conclusion is because you do not want to admit that you have failed to follow your own guidance.

You referenced two documents in your response but failed to include them.

I have since spoken to several NHS trusts, all of which were forthcoming confirming that they still follow the 2012 Guidance for dealing with nuisance disturbance on NHS premises as this is foundation guidance for ALL NHS hospitals.

In FOI 6583 you completely denied having any knowledge of what an 'Authorised Officer' is !

I expect a full response to this FOI

And a full internal review for FOI:
6583
6630
6725
6767

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Tobe Hayden Leigh

Dear FOI (SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST),

Dear Jeanette,

Please explain why you are constantly obfuscating my simple query and refusing to answer my simple request?

In relation to NUISANCE and DISTURBANCE ONLY, does SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST follow the guidance and provisions to deal with nuisance or disturbance behaviour on NHS premises in England V2 issued by NHS Protect March 2012? YES or NO?

If not, what guidance does SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST follow to deal with NUISANCE and DISTURBANCE ONLY !

This is NOT a new FOI, its the same question i have been asking which you have continually refused to answer.

It's not a difficult question, you should know what guidance you follow would you not agree?

Yours sincerely,

Tobe Hayden Leigh

Dear Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust's handling of my FOI request 'Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust Guide to dealing with nuisance or disturbance'.

Please explain why you are constantly obfuscating my simple query and refusing to answer my simple request?

In relation to NUISANCE and DISTURBANCE ONLY, does SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST follow the guidance and provisions to deal with nuisance or disturbance behaviour on NHS premises in England V2 issued by NHS Protect March 2012? YES or NO?

If not, what guidance does SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST follow to deal with NUISANCE and DISTURBANCE ONLY !

This is NOT a new FOI, its the same question i have been asking which you have continually refused to answer.

It's not a difficult question, you should know what guidance you follow would you not agree?

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours sincerely,

Tobe Hayden Leigh

Dear FOI (SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST),

I fail to see why it will take a further 8 days to answer this simple question.

11th March is not acceptable in my submission

Yours sincerely,

Tobe

Dear FOI (SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST),

Dear Jeanette,

We seem to be going round in circles here as you are still attempting to obfuscate my simple question. I fully understand the constitution where it also states:

It has a duty to each and every individual that it serves and must respect their human rights.

And

Patients, with their families and carers, where appropriate, will be involved in and consulted on all decisions about their care and treatment.

And

The system of responsibility and accountability for taking decisions in the NHS should be transparent and clear to the public, patients and staff.

And

We encourage and welcome feedback from patients, families, carers, staff and the public.

And

We find time for patients, their families and carers, as well as those we work alongside.

You have the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless you have given valid consent. If you do not have the capacity to do so, consent must be obtained from a person legally able to act on your behalf, or the treatment must be in your best interests.

And staff should....

follow all guidance, standards and codes relevant to your role, subject to any more specific requirements of your employers

And

earliest reasonable opportunity
involve patients, their families, carers or representatives fully in decisions about prevention, diagnosis, and their individual care and treatment

And

be open with patients, their families, carers or representatives, including if anything goes wrong; welcoming and listening to feedback and addressing concerns promptly and in a spirit of co-operation

What is not clear however is the policy and guidance you follow to ascertain whether someone has indeed caused a nuisance/disturbance on NHS premises and whether or not the trust has good reason or not to contact the police?

'In relation to NUISANCE and DISTURBANCE ONLY, does SURREY AND SUSSEX
HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST follow the guidance and provisions to deal with nuisance or
disturbance behaviour on NHS premises in England V2 issued by NHS Protect March 2012?
YES or NO?

If not, what guidance does SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST follow to deal
with NUISANCE and DISTURBANCE ONLY !

I have reconsidered our management of your request and I believe we have answered
this question on the 7 December 2021, FOI 6725 (copy attached), which you confirmed
in your next request on the same day, FOI 6767 (copy attached). The answer is not a
simple yes or no answer as you request.

Our response was:
The Trust does still refer to the guidance mentioned above to deal with nuisance or
disturbance behaviour on the Trust’s premises. The document is now 9 years old and
some of its detail may be out of date, but its principles remain relevant in how we
interpret the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.'

1. Please specify exactly what 'detail may be out of date' from the guidance and provisions to deal with nuisance or disturbance behaviour on NHS premises in England V2 issued by NHS Protect March 2012.

2. Where you state in relation to https://www.dynamis.training/wp-content/... : 'but its principles remain relevant in how we interpret the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008' i'm not asking how you interpret the act i'm asking you can you confirm that the trust follows pages 1 -22 of the Guidance on provisions to deal with nuisance or disturbance behaviour on NHS premises in England contents listed below? Please identify which of the following points the trust no longer follows

'2. Section 119 - Offence of causing a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises
2.1 What is a nuisance or disturbance
2.2 Who may cause a nuisance or disturbance
2.3 Reasonable excuse for causing a nuisance or disturbance
2.4 NHS staff member
2.5 NHS premises
2.6 Refusal to leave the premises
2.7 Reasonable excuse for refusing to leave the premises
2.8 Patients and those seeking medical advice, treatment or care

3. Practical steps to determine whether a person has committed the offence and
should be removed

Step 1 Has the person caused or created a nuisance or disturbance to an NHS staff
member on NHS premises?
Step 2 Is the person on the premises to seek medical advice, treatment or care?
Step 3 Does the person have a reasonable excuse for their behaviour?
Step 4 Has the person been asked to leave the premises?
Step 5 Does the person have a reasonable excuse for refusing to leave the
premises?

4. Section 120 - The power of removal
4.1 Reasonable suspicion and the power of removal
4.2 Safe removal of a person suspected of committing the offence
4.3 What is reasonable force?
4.4 When can a person not be removed?

5. The authorisation of NHS staff
5.1 The authorisation of authorised officers
5.2 The selection of appropriate NHS staff
5.3 Training requirements
Authorised officers
Appropriate NHS staff members
Mental health awareness

6. Public awareness of the offence and power of removal
6.1 Publicity
6.2 Complaints

7. Record keeping and monitoring
7.1 Why are records required?
7.2 Statutory requirements on record keeping
7.3 Who should keep records?
The NHS body
The authorised officer
The Local Security Management Specialist
7.4 Monitoring

8. Other statutory duties and responsibilities
8.1 Equality and Human Rights considerations
8.2 Health and Safety
8.3 Trespass
8.4 Breach of the peace

Annexes
Annex 1 An aide-mémoire for low level incidents of nuisance and disturbance behaviour
Annex 2 Authorised Officer training – key learning outcomes
Annex 3 Appropriate NHS staff member training – key learning outcomes
Annex 4 Conflict Resolution Training (CRT) – key learning outcomes
Annex 5 Mental Health awareness training – key learning outcomes
Annex 6 CJIA (2008) decision-making flowchart'

2.Does the trust still instruct an authorised officer trained in conflict resolution training to assess whether an individual has reasonable excuse to cause a nuisance/disturbance? if so, how many authorised officers are there in the trust and what are the numbers for each hospital?

3. What is the trusts process that has to be complied with regarding an alleged nuisance/disturbance on NHS premises before calling the police ? ( Please provide the complete direction and/or link to the specific information)

4. Is Dr Simon Bax an appointed authorised officer? if so, when was he appointed and what training has he received ie: CRT, Mental Health awareness etc.

5. in accordance with section 7 'Record keeping and monitoring', how can the public or myself obtain copies of the record keeping for a specific incident? Specifically the record of the incident on the 21 January 2021 at Tillgate Annex East Surrey Hospital.

Yours sincerely,

Tobe

Dear Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust's handling of my FOI request 'Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust Guide to dealing with nuisance or disturbance'.

Dear Jeanette,

We seem to be going round in circles here as you are still attempting to obfuscate my simple question. I fully understand the constitution where it also states:

It has a duty to each and every individual that it serves and must respect their human rights.

And

Patients, with their families and carers, where appropriate, will be involved in and consulted on all decisions about their care and treatment.

And

The system of responsibility and accountability for taking decisions in the NHS should be transparent and clear to the public, patients and staff.

And

We encourage and welcome feedback from patients, families, carers, staff and the public.

And

We find time for patients, their families and carers, as well as those we work alongside.

You have the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless you have given valid consent. If you do not have the capacity to do so, consent must be obtained from a person legally able to act on your behalf, or the treatment must be in your best interests.

And staff should....

follow all guidance, standards and codes relevant to your role, subject to any more specific requirements of your employers

And

earliest reasonable opportunity
involve patients, their families, carers or representatives fully in decisions about prevention, diagnosis, and their individual care and treatment

And

be open with patients, their families, carers or representatives, including if anything goes wrong; welcoming and listening to feedback and addressing concerns promptly and in a spirit of co-operation

What is not clear however is the policy and guidance you follow to ascertain whether someone has indeed caused a nuisance/disturbance on NHS premises and whether or not the trust has good reason or not to contact the police?

'In relation to NUISANCE and DISTURBANCE ONLY, does SURREY AND SUSSEX
HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST follow the guidance and provisions to deal with nuisance or
disturbance behaviour on NHS premises in England V2 issued by NHS Protect March 2012?
YES or NO?

If not, what guidance does SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST follow to deal
with NUISANCE and DISTURBANCE ONLY !

I have reconsidered our management of your request and I believe we have answered
this question on the 7 December 2021, FOI 6725 (copy attached), which you confirmed
in your next request on the same day, FOI 6767 (copy attached). The answer is not a
simple yes or no answer as you request.

Our response was:
The Trust does still refer to the guidance mentioned above to deal with nuisance or
disturbance behaviour on the Trust’s premises. The document is now 9 years old and
some of its detail may be out of date, but its principles remain relevant in how we
interpret the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.'

1. Please specify exactly what 'detail may be out of date' from the guidance and provisions to deal with nuisance or disturbance behaviour on NHS premises in England V2 issued by NHS Protect March 2012.

2. Where you state in relation to https://www.dynamis.training/wp-content/... : 'but its principles remain relevant in how we interpret the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008' i'm not asking how you interpret the act i'm asking you can you confirm that the trust follows pages 1 -22 of the Guidance on provisions to deal with nuisance or disturbance behaviour on NHS premises in England contents listed below? Please identify which of the following points the trust no longer follows

'2. Section 119 - Offence of causing a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises
2.1 What is a nuisance or disturbance
2.2 Who may cause a nuisance or disturbance
2.3 Reasonable excuse for causing a nuisance or disturbance
2.4 NHS staff member
2.5 NHS premises
2.6 Refusal to leave the premises
2.7 Reasonable excuse for refusing to leave the premises
2.8 Patients and those seeking medical advice, treatment or care

3. Practical steps to determine whether a person has committed the offence and
should be removed

Step 1 Has the person caused or created a nuisance or disturbance to an NHS staff
member on NHS premises?
Step 2 Is the person on the premises to seek medical advice, treatment or care?
Step 3 Does the person have a reasonable excuse for their behaviour?
Step 4 Has the person been asked to leave the premises?
Step 5 Does the person have a reasonable excuse for refusing to leave the
premises?

4. Section 120 - The power of removal
4.1 Reasonable suspicion and the power of removal
4.2 Safe removal of a person suspected of committing the offence
4.3 What is reasonable force?
4.4 When can a person not be removed?

5. The authorisation of NHS staff
5.1 The authorisation of authorised officers
5.2 The selection of appropriate NHS staff
5.3 Training requirements
Authorised officers
Appropriate NHS staff members
Mental health awareness

6. Public awareness of the offence and power of removal
6.1 Publicity
6.2 Complaints

7. Record keeping and monitoring
7.1 Why are records required?
7.2 Statutory requirements on record keeping
7.3 Who should keep records?
The NHS body
The authorised officer
The Local Security Management Specialist
7.4 Monitoring

8. Other statutory duties and responsibilities
8.1 Equality and Human Rights considerations
8.2 Health and Safety
8.3 Trespass
8.4 Breach of the peace

Annexes
Annex 1 An aide-mémoire for low level incidents of nuisance and disturbance behaviour
Annex 2 Authorised Officer training – key learning outcomes
Annex 3 Appropriate NHS staff member training – key learning outcomes
Annex 4 Conflict Resolution Training (CRT) – key learning outcomes
Annex 5 Mental Health awareness training – key learning outcomes
Annex 6 CJIA (2008) decision-making flowchart'

2.Does the trust still instruct an authorised officer trained in conflict resolution training to assess whether an individual has reasonable excuse to cause a nuisance/disturbance? if so, how many authorised officers are there in the trust and what are the numbers for each hospital?

3. What is the trusts process that has to be complied with regarding an alleged nuisance/disturbance on NHS premises before calling the police ? ( Please provide the complete direction and/or link to the specific information)

4. Is Dr Simon Bax an appointed authorised officer? if so, when was he appointed and what training has he received ie: CRT, Mental Health awareness etc.

5. in accordance with section 7 'Record keeping and monitoring', how can the public or myself obtain copies of the record keeping for a specific incident? Specifically the record of the incident on the 21 January 2021 at Tillgate Annex East Surrey Hospital.

Yours sincerely,

Tobe

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Dear FOI (SURREY AND SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST),

Why do you keep obfuscating my request by referring to your 'policy on the management of Violence and Aggression for information' when i am specifically requesting information for dealing with nuisance and disturbance?

Yours sincerely,

Mr Leigh