Freedom of Information request 087-2122

FOI Request – Information requested: 1. Please provide on an all-specialties basis, for the end of February 2021. your aggregate 52+ weeks incomplete pathways RTT data, broken down into weekly time bands: >52-53 weeks, >53-54 weeks, >54-55 weeks, and so on, up to the weekly time band containing the longest-waiting patient. The published RTT incomplete pathways data separately identifies patients with a decision to admit, again broken down into weekly time bands, in the “Provider with DTA” worksheet of the published spreadsheets referred to above. Trusts have in recent months coded these patients by clinical priority P1-P6., based on the guide published by the Federation of Surgical Specialty Associations. However the published RTT data is not broken down by clinical priority, nor do the time bands reflect the time since decision to admit. The clinical priority categories are: • Priority 1 operation needed within 72 hours. • Priority 2 surgery which can be deferred for up to four weeks. • Priority 3 surgery which can be delayed for up to three months. • Priority 4 surgery which can be delayed for more than three months. • Priority 5 patients who have requested to remain on the waiting list but to defer treatment because of their concerns about covid-19. • Priority 6 Patients who have been offered treatment but have declined to accept for non-Covid reasons, but still wish to remain on the waiting list. • Or the patient may not have been assigned a priority. 2. Please provide on an all-specialties basis, for the end of February 2021. your aggregate waiting times for incomplete pathways with a decision to admit for treatment, broken down by priority code, and also broken down by the time waited since decision to admit NOT the time since referral. in weekly time bands: 0-1 weeks, >1-2 weeks, >2-3 weeks, >3-4 weeks, and so on, up to the weekly time band containing the patient who has waited longest since decision to admit. Trusts have also started coding patients who do not have a decision to admit, using the same clinical priority categories. 3. Please provide on an all-specialties basis, for the end of February 2021. your aggregate waiting times for incomplete pathways without a decision to admit for treatment, broken down by priority code, and also broken down by the time waited since referral in weekly time bands: 0-1 weeks, >1-2 weeks, >2-3 weeks, >3-4 weeks, and so on, up to the weekly time band containing the patient who has waited longest. If data for the end of February 2021 is no longer available, then more recent data may be provided instead, in which case please advise the census date you have used. If you are not the correct person to respond to part/all of the request, I would be grateful if you could let me know as soon as possible, and suggest who I need to send it to or forward it onto the person in question and copy me in. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 states that the respondent has 20 working days to reply to the query and if it takes longer than 20 working days to collate the information, the responder can ask the requester to grant discretionary extension of time up to a maximum of further 20 working days. Please let me know if it is likely that you will be unable to provide the relevant information to me by the above deadline. The act also allows the respondent to reject or charge the requester for the request if it would take 18 or more working hours to deal with the request e.g. locating, retrieving, extracting the information. which would cost the respondent at least £450 charging at £25 per hour.. If you could please let me know whether or not it may take 18 or more working hours to provide the information, so that I am able to send a fee note to the requester, as appropriate.