Freedom of Information Request – Ref: FOI 268-2026
Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find our response below.
You asked:
1. How many Care Reviews are currently open?
Our response:
Two.
You asked:
2. For all currently open Care Reviews, how long have they been open?
Our response:
| Length of Time Open | Number of Reviews |
|---|---|
| Under 6 months | 0 |
| 6–12 months | 0 |
| 12–18 months | 0 |
| 18–24 months | 1 |
| Over 24 months | 1 |
You asked:
3. Of the currently open Care Reviews, how many relate to a patient’s death by suspected suicide?
Our response:
Two.
You asked:
4. Of those relating to suspected suicide, how many have been open for:
Our response:
| Length of Time Open | Number of Reviews |
|---|---|
| More than 6 months | 0 |
| More than 12 months | 0 |
| 18 months or longer | 2 |
You asked:
5. For all Care Reviews completed during the last three years, what was:
- The average time between the patient’s death and formal completion of the Care Review?
- The longest time between the patient’s death and formal completion?
Our response:
The average time between the patient’s death and formal completion of the Care Review was 278 days.
The longest time between the patient’s death and formal completion of the Care Review was 432 days.
You asked:
6. For Care Reviews relating to suspected suicide that were completed during the last three years, what was:
- The average time between the patient’s death and formal completion?
- The longest time between the patient’s death and formal completion?
Our response:
Please refer to the response to Question 5. Care Reviews are a locally designed learning response tool introduced by the Trust for suspected suicides.
You asked:
7. During the last three years, how many Care Reviews took 18 months or longer from the date of death to formal completion?
Our response:
No completed Care Reviews took 18 months or longer from the date of death to formal completion.
You asked:
8. What is the Trust’s current target or expected timescale for completing a Care Review following a patient’s death?
Our response:
The Trust does not have a formally defined target timescale for completing a Care Review. However, Care Reviews that remain open for more than six months are reported through the Trust’s governance processes for monitoring purposes.
The Trust is also introducing additional fields within the Datix system to monitor progress through each stage of the review process, recognising that a range of factors may influence the time taken to complete a learning response. For example, reviewers are not allocated to begin an investigation on the day an incident is reported.
You asked:
9. Of the Care Reviews currently open, how many have exceeded the Trust’s expected or target completion timescale?
Our response:
The Trust does not have a formal target completion timescale for Care Reviews. However, both currently open Care Reviews have been open for more than six months and therefore meet the threshold for enhanced monitoring through the Trust’s governance processes.
You asked:
10. Where Care Reviews have remained open beyond 12 or 18 months, what information does the Trust hold regarding the reasons for these delays? For example, whether delays have been attributed to staffing or capacity, complexity of the review, availability of staff or witnesses, or other factors.
Our response:
Information relating to the progress of open Care Reviews is reported through monthly governance reports within the Trust’s governance structure.
Next steps:
Should you have any queries in relation to our response, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you are unhappy with the response you have received in relation to your request and wish to ask us to review our response, you should write to:
Louise Moss
Head of Legal Services / Associate Director of Corporate Governance
c/o Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Edward Jenner Court
1010 Pioneer Avenue
Gloucester Business Park
Brockworth, GL3 4AW
E-mail: louise.moss20@nhs.net
If you are not content with the outcome of any review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for further advice/guidance. Generally, the ICO will not consider your case unless you have exhausted your enquiries with the Trust which should include considering the use of the Trust’s formal complaints procedure. The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.