Freedom of Information Request – Ref: FOI 274-2026
Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find our response below.
You asked:
1. number of patients
i) under 18 years old waiting over 52 weeks between referral to mental health services and beginning of treatment over the last 5 years
Our response:
i. 0 patients.
You asked:
ii) under 25 years old waiting over 52 weeks between referral to mental health services and beginning of treatment over the last 5 years
Our response:
ii. 40 patients.
You asked:
2. the maximum wait in weeks between referral to mental health services and beginning of treatment over the last 5 years for patients under 25 years old.
Our response:
The Trust is unable to provide the requested maximum waiting time from its existing reporting data because identifying the longest wait would require case-level validation to determine whether the apparent maximum reflects a genuine patient pathway or a data-quality issue.
Please note: In relation to your request for information on waiting times for Children’s Services, specifically Children’s Mental Health Services, we are currently unable to provide a validated waiting-time figure in the form requested.
A national methodology for measuring waiting times for these services is currently undergoing final validation. This methodology is required to provide a consistent definition of the points at which a waiting-time period starts and stops. In particular, it will determine:
- which referral types and referral dates should be used to identify the start of a waiting-time period
- what constitutes the start of a spell or episode of care
- which appointments, contacts or treatments constitute the point at which the waiting-time clock stops and
- how individual pathways should be counted when calculating the overall waiting time from referral to treatment or other defined clinical intervention
Until this methodology has been finalised and validated, applying a locally determined definition could produce figures that are inconsistent with the national approach and may not provide an accurate or meaningful representation of waiting times.
We therefore do not currently hold a validated waiting-time measure for Children’s Mental Health Services that can reliably answer the request using the national methodology described above.
The national methodology is currently expected to be finalised and available for implementation by March 2027. This date is subject to confirmation through the national validation process. Once the methodology has been validated and implemented, the Trust expects to be able to calculate waiting times consistently and respond to future Freedom of Information requests using the nationally agreed definitions.
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.