Responses

I kindly request the following information for Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust:
1. What is the total backlog of outpatient clinical letters awaiting completion as of January 2025? (I am interested in the operational backlog only and do not require data on older letters that may be duplicates or contain errors.
2. What was the total expenditure on temporary administrative staff in the past financial year?
3. What was the total expenditure on (external) transcription or voice recognition services in the past financial year, if applicable?
4. If applicable, when is the current contract for (external) transcription or voice recognition services set to expire?
5. Is the trust currently exploring or actively pursuing the implementation of ambient AI or AI-powered transcription services?

I am requesting access to the below information, thank you

How many adults were referred to your mental health service in the following years:

2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024

How many adults were treated at your mental health service in the following years:

2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024

How many adults treated at your service ended their own lives in the following years:

2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024

I am submitting this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to obtain details regarding the total expenditure by your trust on transcription services. Specifically, I would like to request the following information for the last three financial years (or the most recent available period):
1. Total expenditure on outsourced transcription services (including third-party providers and digital dictation/transcription software).
2. Total expenditure on in-house/on-premises medical secretaries whose primary role includes transcription and documentation.
3. If possible, a breakdown of costs by year and/or service provider.

1. How many clinical episodes does your Trust record on average each month or over an annual period?
2. What is the size of your clinical coding team?
3. Is the coding team focused on coding clinical episodes within inpatient, outpatient, or A&E (Emergency Care) – or all of the above? Any other settings or niche areas that are coded by this team?
4. On average, how many systems do coding teams need to access and review to code a typical episode?
5. What is the average time spent on coding a clinical episode?
6. What is the maximum time spent on coding a clinical episode?
7. On average, what number or percentage of episodes go uncoded?
8. On average, what number or percentage of episodes are not coded to sufficient detail?
9. What are the main reasons why episodes go uncoded or are not coded to sufficient detail?
10. Who is the budget holder for clinical coding team and/or what is their role?

Please could you provide me with the below information for all Lloyds OPD within your trust’s control during January 2021 to December 2024. Please could this be returned to me in the form of an excel or CSV file.

• Contractor name
• Contractor Address
• Contractor code / GPHC number (which ever is available)
• Drug name
• Drug strength
• Items of each of the above dispensed
• Quantity of each of the above dispensed
• By month
• Date range January 2021 to December 2024

I would just like to clarify I would like the data to reflect the dispensing month.

The drugs I would like to see specifically are categorised as
• Special
• Special Obtain
• Unlicensed medications

I understand that the data held within the trust may present in a different format to my request. If my requested categorisation (last 3 bullet points) is unavailable, then I am requesting all dispensing data (first 9 bullet points of my request) for each of the Lloyds OPD sites from January 2021 to December 2024.

Dementia Care

It is my understanding that there is only one full-time Admiral Nurse covering both Gloucestershire
Royal Hospital and Cheltenham General Hospital. Could you please confirm if this is correct?

Additionally, as Admiral Nurses are typically based in the community, I would like to request
information on the number of full-time Admiral Nurses available in the following areas:
• Stow on the Wold
• Moreton in Marsh
• The Rissingtons
• Bourton on the Water

Furthermore, I would like to know the number of beds available in the aforementioned towns that
offer dementia care services where patients can reside. This information is crucial to ensure that
patients are not held on general wards in either Gloucestershire Royal Hospital or Cheltenham
General Hospital, and to facilitate easier visits for relatives.

Could you also provide details on whether any of the care homes in these towns have arrangements
with the NHS that allow for dementia patients to be treated within the care homes rather than in
hospitals?

Additionally, what care packages are in place to support dementia patients living at home? Do any
GPs in these towns offer home visits to dementia patients who are living at home?

X-Ray and other services

Regarding the X-ray department, I have the following queries:

1. When did the X-ray department change from a walk-in/appointment arrangement to an appointment-only system?
2. How many days per week are X-ray services available at the hospital, and what are the operating hours?
3. What is the annual number of people who have had X-rays at the hospital from the year 2000 to 2024?
4. Are there any plans to increase the number of days that X-ray services are available?
5. Are there any plans to reintroduce a walk-in service for X-rays?
Lastly, when the hospital was built in 2012 to replace the old Victorian hospital, did the business case for the project include the financial costs for operating the X-ray department as a walk-in and daily service? Are there any plans to increase or decrease other services offered at the hospital?

1. How many episodes of care were coded by your organisation in 2024 (both inpatient and outpatient)?
2. How many episodes of care went uncoded in 2024?
3. How much income do you estimate was not generated due to uncoded activity?
4. Can you provide the split of coding volumes between specialities (e.g., oncology, cardiology)?
5. Please explain how your organisation manages coding activity.
6. Are outpatient and inpatient coding managed by the same team or separate teams?
7. How many Whole-Time Equivalent (WTE) staff complete clinical coding for the Trust?
8. What proportion of the total WTE staff for clinical coding is substantive (permanent), bank staff, and agency staff?
9. Does the Trust currently have any automated solutions in place for clinical coding?
10. If yes, please explain the automated solution that is in place.
11. If not, is the Trust planning to implement automated coding solutions in the next 12–24 months? Or would it be interested in exploring potential solutions?
12. Is the Trust currently on Payment by Results (PbR), block contracts, or another financial model?
13. What clinical coding systems or software does the Trust currently use to capture clinical codes?
14. Does your Trust’s Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system integrate clinical coding, or do clinical departments use standalone systems?
15. What are the main challenges the Trust faces in clinical coding (e.g., timeliness, accuracy, staffing shortages)?
16. Could you provide the contact details (name, job title, and email) of the person who is ultimately responsible for overseeing clinical coding within the Trust?

I am writing to make a formal request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding your radiology reporting services. I am particularly interested in understanding the scope of radiological services provided, the extent of outsourcing, and the associated operational details.
Please could you provide the following information:
General Information
1. The total number of radiology scans performed at your hospital in the last 12 months, broken down by modality (CT, MRI, and nuclear medicine).
2. A detailed breakdown of the scans performed by body part for each of the above modalities.
3. The total number of outsourced scans, categorized by modality (CT, MRI, and nuclear medicine).
Outsourcing and Teleradiology
4. Whether any radiology scans are outsourced to external providers.
5. The percentage of scans outsourced for each modality, if applicable.
6. The names of the external providers contracted for outsourced radiology reporting.
7. The cost per scan for outsourced services, broken down by modality and body part.
Financial Information
8. The total expenditure on outsourced radiology reporting services in the last financial year.
9. Whether there are fixed pricing agreements with teleradiology providers, and if so, the details of these agreements.
Contracts and Agreements
10. Any active contracts with teleradiology companies, including:
a. The names of the contracted providers.
b. The start and end dates of the contracts.
c. The performance or quality metrics outlined in the contracts.
Backlogs and Reporting Times
11. The current backlog for radiology scan reporting, broken down by modality and body part.
12. The average reporting time for in-house radiology scans, categorized by modality.
13. The average reporting time for outsourced scans.
14. Whether specific modalities or body parts have more significant backlogs.
Additional Details
15. Any delays in reporting radiology scans over the last 12 months and the primary causes of such delays.
16. Whether the hospital has plans to reduce reliance on outsourcing for radiology reporting, and if so, the details of these strategies.

Could you please give me the below information.

Do you have a digital pathology setup?
If so what providers do you use?
Spend for the year on digital pathology?
If you have digital pathology Implemented , What scanner do you use?

Digital radiology
Do you have a digital radiology set up
If so what providers do you use?
Spend for the year on digital radiology?

1. Does the Trust have a chronic pelvic pain clinic? (yes,no)
2. If yes- which specialities are involved? i.e. GP, radiology, gynaecology, urogynaecology, pain management, physiotherapy, gastroenterology, psychology?
If no- what service/pathway is available for women with chronic pelvic pain?
3. What is the current referral time for patients to access this clinic and how many patients in total are waiting to access this service?
4. How many patients are currently under the care of this clinic?
5. How many appointments per year does this clinic utilise?

I would be most grateful if you would provide me, under the Freedom of Information Act, details in respect to the contract below.

Confidential Waste Destruction Contract

The details I require are:
• Has confidential waste been procured via tender or framework, or another means, if other means, please confirm how you procured your confidential waste.
• If a framework, could you confirm the name of the framework please?
• Actual contract values of each framework/contract (& any sub lots)
• Start date & duration of contract
• Is there an extension clause in the framework(s)/contract(s) and, if so, the duration of the extension, along with the final possible contract end date?
• Has a decision been made yet on whether the framework(s)/contract(s) are being either extended or renewed?
• Who is the procurement officer responsible for this contract and could you provide their email address and phone number please?
• Do you have a generic email address for your procurement department, for example procurement@organisation.com, if so could you confirm this?
Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this contract and could you provide their email address and phone number please?
• Who is the current supplier?
• If your current supplier is a Facilities Management/Waste/Cleaning Company, which sub-contractor services your organisation? E.g., which company’s staff actually collect your confidential waste?

1. Do you know how many children in your area have a diagnosis of autism and have turned to your service for help? Out of those numbers how many have been discharged without any long-term treatment? (Long term as defined as individual treatment spanning more than 3 and up to 12 clinical and therapeutic sessions over several months).

2. How many children with autism currently receive ongoing and longer-term individual (by which I mean a combination of long-term medication and or therapy/counselling or both) within your service and how many of these have been funded by your service to receive treatment elsewhere?

Freedom of Information – Claudication Services

Services
Q1. Does your Trust currently provide a vascular service for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular diseases, specifically including vascular surgery and interventional vascular radiology?
 Yes
 No

Q2. If vascular services are available, is your organisation designated as a specialist vascular care centre or a hub centre within the network of care providers? (please select all that apply)
Specialist services: providing diagnostics and expert advice in an outpatient setting and providing elective and 24/7 emergency vascular services.
Hub centre: providing diagnostics and expert advice in an outpatient setting.

 Specialist centre
 Hub
 Other (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………….

Claudication clinics
Intermittent claudication: Intermittent claudication is the most common clinical symptom associated with peripheral arterial disease — walking (exercise) induced pain in the lower limbs caused by diminished circulation that is relieved by rest.
Q3. In your organisation, are there specific claudication clinics for patients with intermittent claudication?
 Yes
 No – If no please skip to question Q10

Q4. If yes, which healthcare professional usually sees patients in these clinics? Please select all that apply.
 Vascular surgeon/medical doctor
 Vascular nurse specialist
 Allied health professional
 Other (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………….

Q5. In your organisation, what is the format of claudication clinics? Please select all that apply.
 Diagnostic testing
 Disease counselling and treatment planning
 Offer lifestyle management
 Offer exercise
 Other (Please specify) ………………………………………………………………..

Q6. How frequently are claudication specialist clinics held?
 Weekly
 Every 2–4 weeks
 Every 2–4 months
 Less frequently than all the above options
 Other (Please specify) ………………………………………………………………..

Q7. What is the standard interval for routine follow-up for patients diagnosed with intermittent claudication?
 Every 1 month,
 Every 3–6 months
 Every 12 months
 Determined by clinical need
 No formal follow-up
 Not Known
 Other (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………….

Q9. In your organisation, what is the current waiting time for patients with intermittent claudication between referral and 1st appointment in the vascular specialist clinics?
Please specify …………………………………………………………………….

Exercise
Q10. Are patients with intermittent claudication who attend your Trust offered a supported exercise programme specifically designed for claudication? Please select all that apply.
 Yes
 No
 Verbal advice only

Q11. What is the format of the exercise programme for patients with claudication? Please select all that apply.
 Supervised classes in hospital or community setting
 Virtual Supervised classes at home
 App based directed exercise at home
 Home/Unsupervised
 Don’t Know

Q12. If a structured programme exists, where is this programme provided?
 Your hospital/ Trust, i.e within your organisation
 Another hospital/ Trust, i.e outside your organisation
 Referral to primary care setting outside your organisation
 Referral to a private setting outside your organisation
 Other (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………….

Q13. Over what duration do these supervised exercise programmes typically last for patients diagnosed with claudication?
 4-8 weeks
 12–16 weeks
 More frequently than all the above options (Please specify) …………………..
 Less frequently than all the above options (Please specify) …………………..

Q14. How long are the classes (in minutes)?
 30-60 minutes
 60–90 minutes
 More frequently than all the above options (Please specify) …………………..
 Less frequently than all the above options (Please specify) …………………..

Q15. How often/frequently (times per week) do the classes meet?
 Once per week
 Every 2–4 weeks
 Every 2–4 months
 Less frequently than all the above options
 Other (Please specify) …………………..

Q16. Which healthcare professionals are involved in delivering the classes? Please select all that apply.
 Physiotherapist
 Nurse
 Exercise professional
 Other (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………….

Smoking
Q17. In your organisation, where do you offer a smoking cessation service to patients with intermittent claudication?
 Your hospital/ Trust, i.e within your organisation
 Another hospital/ Trust, i.e outside your organisation
 Referral to primary care setting outside your organisation
 Referral to a private setting outside your organisation
 Other (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………….

Dietetics
Q18. In your organisation, where do you offer a dietetics service to patients with intermittent claudication?
 Your hospital/ Trust, i.e within your organisation
 Another hospital/ Trust, i.e outside your organisation
 Referral to primary care setting outside your organisation
 Referral to a private setting outside your organisation
 Other (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………….

Psychology
Q19. Does your organisation offer a psychology service specific for patients with intermittent claudication?
 Yes
 No – If no please skip to question Q21

Q20. Is there a screening pathway for patients with intermittent claudication to be referred to a psychologist?
 Yes
 No – If no please skip to question Q21

Referral
Q21 What are the available pathways or methods by which patients with intermittent claudication are referred to the vascular service in your organisation? Please select all that apply:
 Vascular staff screen lists of hospital ward patients
 A telephone/pager referral system
 A paper referral form (collected in person/faxed/posted)
 Secure email system
 Electronic computerised system (e.g. patient record system)
 Other (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………….

Q22. Is there a standard proforma for referral to vascular?
 Yes
 No
 Other (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………….

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request the following information relating to systems used by your organisation:

1. The name of all document management systems (not patient records) currently in use by your trust.

2. The name of the policy management system (if any) currently in use by your trust.

3. The name of any board report portals / systems currently in use by your trust.

4. The cost of these systems, including any licensing or ongoing support fees.

5. Whether there are any open tenders or procurement processes related to document or policy management systems that your trust is currently involved in or plans to release in the near future.

Request 1.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, please could you answer the following questions:

1. Does your organisation use/perform Viscosupplementation injections?

2. If so, how much did your organisation spend on Viscosupplementation between the period of 01/01/2024 to 31/12/2024?

3. If your organisation used Viscosupplementation between the period 01/01/2024 to 31/12/2024, which brand(s) Viscosupplement did you use?

To make your research easier, I have listed all commonly used Viscosupplements that you can cross reference:

· Arthrum H
· Orthovisc
· Crespine Gel
· Durolane
· Euflexxa
· Fermathron
· Ostenil
· Ostenil Plus
· Ostenil Mini
· RenehaVis
· Suplasyn
· Synocrom
· Synocrom Mini
· Synolis
· Monovisc
· Synopsis
· Synvisc (Hylan GF-20)
· Synvisc One (Hylan GF-20)

4. How many units of each brand of Viscosupplement did you use? 

Request 2.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, please can you answer the following questions:

1. How much did your organisation spend on Sodium Hyaluronate eye drop formulations between the period of 01/01/2024 to 31/12/2024?

2. Between the period 01/01/2024 to 31/12/2024, which brand(s) of Sodium Hyaluronate eye drop formulations did you use?

To make your research easier, I have listed all commonly used brands which you can cross reference:

• Blink Intensive Tears
• Lacrifresh
• Artelac Rebalance
• Oxyal
• Xailin HA
• Optive Fusion
• Hyabak
• Hydramed
• Evolve HA
• Vismed Multi
• Clinitas Multi
• Eye Logic
• Euphrasia
• Biotrue
• Vismed Gel Multi
• Hysoothe
• Optrex Night Restore Gel
• Hy-Opti
• Hylo-Tear
• Murine Professional
• Hylo-Forte
• Hycosan Fresh
• Hylo Care
• Hycosan

3. How many units of each brand did you use?

Under the Freedom of Information Act, please could you answer the following questions:

1. Does your organisation use Fibrin Sealants or Fibrin Glues?
2. If so, how much did your organisation spend on Fibrin products between the period of 01/01/2024 to 31/12/2024?
3. If your organisation used any Fibrin products between the period 01/01/2024 to 31/12/2024, which brand(s) did you use? To make your research easier, I have listed all commonly used Fibrin products that you can cross reference:
o Tisseel
o Artiss
o Evicel
o Vistaseal
o ReliSeal
o FloSeal
o Celstat
4. How many units of each brand did you use?

Please could I request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act:

For the last five years (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), could you please provide me with the following information:

1) How many patients did you treat who were from out of the area?

2) How many patients did you have to deny treatment and send to another mental health trust because of a lack of capacity or for any other reason?

3) How many beds did you have for your mental health patients?

4) How many patients did you place in accommodation outside of the hospital e.g. bed and breakfasts or hotels as you had run out of beds?

5) How many patients were ready to be discharged but were kept in hospital as they had no suitable accommodation or care package?