Freedom of Information Request – Ref: FOI 131-2025
Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find our response below.
You asked:
I am writing to submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as part of my PhD research investigating the mental health and social harms related to cannabis and cocaine use within the UK healthcare system.
Please provide anonymized, aggregate data for the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024 covering the following areas:
- Mental Health Service Users
- Number of individuals accessing psychiatric services related to cannabis and cocaine use.
- Number of individuals receiving counselling or psychotherapy (including CBT, psychodynamic therapy, and other modalities) for mental health conditions linked to cannabis and cocaine use.
- Age, gender, and geographical breakdowns of these service users where available.
- Treatment Episodes and Modalities
- Total number of treatment episodes delivered for cannabis and cocaine-related mental health conditions, including inpatient, outpatient, community, and day services.
- Types of psychiatric and psychological interventions provided (e.g., medication management, counselling, psychotherapy, group therapy).
- Outcomes and Follow-Up
- Available data on treatment outcomes (e.g., completion rates, relapse rates) and follow-up or readmission rates for cannabis and cocaine-related cases.
- Referral Sources and Waiting Times
- Main referral pathways for cannabis and cocaine-related mental health services (e.g., GP, self-referral, criminal justice system, hospital).
- Average waiting times from referral to first appointment for psychiatric, counselling, or psychotherapy services linked to cannabis and cocaine use.
- Co-occurring Conditions
- Proportion of service users presenting with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
- Data on co-use of other substances where available.
While I am particularly interested in data coded under ICD-10 codes F12 (mental and behavioural disorders due to cannabinoids) and F14 (due to cocaine), I request that you also include any relevant data on mental health conditions, treatments, service usage, and outcomes related to cannabis and cocaine use, regardless of coding systems or classifications used within your trust.
Please also can you provide details of any other clinical / internal codes used to classify or record such cases and treatments.
If some of the requested data is not held in exactly the format specified, please provide data in the closest available format or inform me of any limitations.
Our response:
Please see the link below:
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.