Gloucestershire Health and Care- NHS Trust logo
with you, for you
Responses > Discharge of Patients who have not Engaged and/or have not Attended Appointments

Freedom of Information request Discharge of Patients who have not Engaged and/or have not Attended Appointments

Response published: 11 March 2026
Copy of Trust Policy

FOI Request

Dear Sir, FOI Discharge of patients who have not engaged and/or have not attended appointments 1) Please disclose all versions of your policies on the management and discharge of patients who do not attend appointments (DNAs) and/or who disengage from care for the period 2022-2026 YTD 2) The trust previously disclosed to another FOI requestor that it discharged a total of 27,497 patients in the period 2019 to 2024 because they did not attend appointments or did not engage with care. This is a link to the previous FOI request and trust response: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/discharges_from_mental_health_se_20 Please disclose: a) Whether the trust audits if such discharges for non-attendance/non-engagement to check if they are safe and in compliance with trust policies If so, please disclose a copy of the clinical audit protocol and the results of any clinical audits undertaken in the last two years b) Whether the trust reviews whether such discharges for non-attendance/non-engagement are ever followed by near misses or serious incidents? If so, please disclose the policy or procedures governing this work, and the results of any such reviews undertaken in the last two years c) If the data is held centrally and can be provided within FOIA limits, has inappropriate discharge of destabilising and disengaging patients been identified as a factor in serious incidents (completed suicide and homicide) in the last two years? Yours,

FOI Response

Freedom of Information Request – Ref: FOI 066-2026

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find our response below.

You asked:

1) Please disclose all versions of your policies on the management and discharge of patients who do not attend appointments (DNAs) and/or who disengage from care for the period 2022-2026 YTD

Our response:

Please clink on links below to access our policies:

P1 – Patient Access to Services Policy

P2 – Access Policy V3.6

P3 – Access Policy Physical Health V4

P4 – Did Not Attend DNA Was Not Brought WNB and Non Access Policy

You asked:

2) The trust previously disclosed to another FOI requester (FOI Ref: 014-2024) that it discharged a total of 27,497 patients in the period 2019 to 2024 because they did not attend appointments or did not engage with care.

Please disclose:

a) Whether the trust audits if such discharges for non-attendance/non-engagement to check if they are safe and in compliance with trust policies

Our response:

We do not currently have any audits of discharges for non-attendance / non-engagement on the Trust’s Clinical Audit Programme.

You asked:

If so, please disclose a copy of the clinical audit protocol and the results of any clinical audits undertaken in the last two years

Our response:

Not applicable.

You asked:

b) Whether the trust reviews whether such discharges for non-attendance/non-engagement are ever followed by near misses or serious incidents?

Our response:

No – Our Local Risk Management System (Datix) allows clinical teams to report DNA’s and any inappropriate discharge incidents. These incidents are reviewed in accordance with our Patient Safety Incident Response Plan and Policy.

You asked:

If so, please disclose the policy or procedures governing this work, and the results of any such reviews undertaken in the last two years

Our response:

Not applicable.

You asked:

c) If the data is held centrally and can be provided within FOIA limits, has inappropriate discharge of destabilising and disengaging patients been identified as a factor in serious incidents (completed suicide and homicide) in the last two years?

Our response:

We are unable to provide this information requested and we have applied exemption 30 of the FOI Act.

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.moss@ghc.nhs.uk

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.