Freedom of Information - HACW-2756

FOI request:

1. Please complete the below table, providing figures in relation to the number of patients waiting to start consultant-led Referral to Treatment (RTT), outpatients and Patient Initiated Follow-up (PIFU), which gives patients and their carers the flexibility to arrange their follow-up appointments as and when they need them.

PIFU FOI request

As at February 2022	Total Number of Patients
Total number of RTT patients waiting to start treatment
Total number of outpatients
Of those outpatients, how many are eligible to go on a PIFU pathway
Of those eligible, how many have been offered to go on a PIFU pathway
Of those offered, how many are currently placed on a PIFU pathway

2. Are all outpatients included in the RTT patient numbers? Yes/no

3. Does your organisation currently have technology in place to accommodate PIFU pathways? For example, a patient engagement tool for booking PIFU appointments etc.

1. Who is the supplier of the system?
2. Please provide further detail on how the technology supports PIFU

4. Does your organisation have a clinical task management tool to support PIFU which aids escalation and intervention for patients that could be lost to follow-up or their circumstances have changed

1. Who is the supplier of the system?
2. Please provide further detail on how the technology supports PIFU
3. What job role is responsible for making purchasing decisions around task management software at your organisations? E.g. Chief Operating Officer, Chief Information Officer

5. Does your organisation have an employee or team whose role is involved in administering/co-ordinating PIFU? If yes, please state the number of FTEs involved in PIFU

6. Please complete the table for each of the specialties listed:

FOI request by specialty

Specialty	How many days a month were outpatient clinics run in February 2022?	What specialties are PIFU currently implemented in? (tick for yes)
Mental Health
Cardiology
Dermatology
Diabetes
Endocrinology
Gastroenterology
Geriatric Medicine
Gynaecology
Hepatology
Neurology
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Palliative medicine
Paediatrics services
Physiotherapy
Rehabilitation
Renal medicine
Respiratory
Rheumatology
Colorectal surgery
Breast Surgery Service
Ear, Nose and Throat
General Surgery
Orthopaedics and Trauma
Orthoptics
Pain management
Plastic surgery
Thoracic medicine
Urology
Vascular surgery
Audiology Service
Other

 

7. How is your organisation measuring the impact of PIFU in these specialties? e.g. size of waiting list, number of weeks patients are waiting for treatment, number of outpatient attendances

8. Has the implementation of PIFU reduced the operating hours of outpatient clinics? if so, by what percentage since implementation

Trust response:

1.

PIFU FOI request

As at February 2022	Total Number of Patients
Total number of RTT patients waiting to start treatment
Total number of outpatients
Of those outpatients, how many are eligible to go on a PIFU pathway	Not recorded by this Trust
Of those eligible, how many have been offered to go on a PIFU pathway	Not recorded by this Trust
Of those offered, how many are currently placed on a PIFU pathway	Not recorded by this Trust

The table above includes two figures based on patients who are attending our General and Acute Outpatient Services at the Trust Community Hospitals. The reference to started treatment relates to patients waiting for their 1^st Outpatient appointment, as the Trust only provides part of the pathway for this. If patients then require treatment/surgery this will be picked up by Acute Hospital Trusts in Worcestershire or Gloucestershire. We then may pick up any follow up appointments.

6.

FOI request by specialty

Specialty	How many days a month were outpatient clinics run in February 2022?	What specialties are PIFU currently implemented in? (tick for yes)
Mental Health	28
Cardiology
Dermatology
Diabetes
Endocrinology
Gastroenterology
Geriatric Medicine
Gynaecology	9
Hepatology
Neurology
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Palliative medicine
Paediatrics services	6
Physiotherapy	20
Rehabilitation	6
Renal medicine
Respiratory
Rheumatology
Colorectal surgery
Breast Surgery Service
Ear, Nose and Throat	2
General Surgery
Orthopaedics and Trauma	16
Orthoptics
Pain management
Plastic surgery
Thoracic medicine
Urology	2
Vascular surgery	2
Audiology Service
Other

With regard to your questions relating to PIFU, we do not routinely monitor this and it has not been implemented as a routine part of our services due the possible transfer of the General and Acute outpatient element that we provide. This was planned to happen at the start of this financial year. The services will continue to be provided at our sites but responsibility and the activity will then be fall within the remit of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust or Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Please be aware that although this information is accurate at the time it is provided, it may not be in the future and should not be relied upon.