FOI 1740 – Complex Care

Response

Date: 9 January 2023

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION – DECISION NOTICE

Dear Sir / Madam,

FOI Reference Number: 1740

CHC Funded Care and Support Packages Statistics

Please advise;
1. Who is responsible for sourcing and commissioning CHC funded packages of Care for individuals with Complex Care and Support Needs, please detail the team that sources packages of support and which department they for i.e., NHS or Local Authority (LA).
2. The number of CHC Funded Care and Support Packages commissioned by your ICB/LA and facilitated by an Independent (private or voluntary) provider within your ICB/LA boundary as of 2nd January 2023,
3. The number of providers you commission on a spot purchase or framework arrangement to provide specialist Complex Care and Support Services within your ICB/LA boundary as of 2ndJanuary 2023,
4. The number of providers specialising in post Spinal Injury Care and Support Services within your ICB/LA boundary as of 2nd January 2023,
5. The number of independent (private or voluntary) specialist Complex Care and Support providers commissioned by your ICB/LA from 2nd January 2023 under a block contract arrangement, if appropriate please advise of the format of this provision,

Individuals in receipt of CHC funded care and support package Statistics
Please advise;
1. The number of individuals (children and adults) currently receiving care and support from a provider commissioned by your ICB/ LA with CHC funding in place with Complex Care and Support needs,
2. The number of individuals (children and adults) currently receiving care and support within their own home setting from a provider commissioned by an outside ICB/LA living but within your ICB/LA boundary,
3. The number of individuals (children and adults) currently receiving care and support from a provider commissioned by your ICB/LA with CHC funding in place receiving over 80 hours per week care and support,

Framework & Non-Framework Providers & Fees

1. Does the ICB/LA make placements via a Framework or other pre commissioned service arrangement for Complex Care and Support packages?
2. If the ICB/LA has framework or pre commissioned arrangements, are these arrangements in collaboration with any other ICB’s or Local Authorities? If so, who are the other ICB’s or Local Authorities?
3. In relation to any Frameworks you currently operate for individuals (children and adults) currently receiving complex and or high level care and support operated by an Independent (private or voluntary) provider within your ICB/LA boundary, please provide the following information (including Provider name) about the number of individuals they support within your ICB/LA boundary, the average weekly hours commissioned, the average hourly rate paid for this provision, per type specified and whether the fees include any discounts agreed with said Provider. Please also advise the totals for all packages in each type specified i.e. total average hourly rate, total average hours provided per week & total no of individuals supported by each provider.
4. As per question 3 above, please provide the same information; however, this time in relation to Non-Framework Providers i.e. where the ICB/LA has commissioned packages with Independent care and support Providers using a Spot Purchase mechanism because the Provider is not on a Framework with the ICB/LA. Please also advise the totals for all packages in each type specified i.e. total average hourly fee & total no of individuals supported by Provider.
5. Please explain the process followed when you are unable to source a provider from the framework. Is there is a mailing list for this and if so please share the contact details of the team or individual responsible for making off framework package of care arrangements.

General information

1. Provide details of any e-sourcing portals used by your ICB/LA to advertise tender opportunities for Complex Care and Support Services including Spinal Care Services,
2. Details of which team/ department commission/source Complex Care and Support packages where an individual has CHC funding in place, please detail whether this is commissioned directly by the ICB or whether the commissioning of these packages of care are commissioned by the responsible Local Authority for the individual in need of care and support and CHC funding.
3. Please provide the contact details (phone number and email) and name of the team within your ICB/LA that refers individuals/ manage the placement contracts/ process for individual packages of support for individuals receiving Complex Care and Support services. Please including both children and adults requiring a package of Complex Care and Support in this and whether it is an all age service or separate,
4. Please provide us of the details of any block contract arrangements you currently hold for Complex Care and Support Services including Spinal Care Services within your ICB/LA area.

Our response:

I can confirm that we do hold some information in relation to your request. However the information that we capture on our databases is not sufficiently detailed to allow us to easily identify those individuals who would fall under the scope of your request.

We have identified 413 patients within our Continuing Healthcare database who may fall under the scope of your request; each of these records would need to be inspected manually to ascertain if they are relevant to this request. We estimate that it would take at least 3 minutes to search each patient record which would give a total of over 20 hours to check all the patients, which would exceed the appropriate limit of £450 in line with the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the Organisation holds the information, and locating, retrieving and extracting the information.

Furthermore we note that this would only cover the time taken to respond to some of the questions you have asked. To respond to all of your questions would take longer; however, as our estimation for establishing the relevant patients is already in excess of the stipulated timescale, we have not estimated how long it would take to cover all remaining questions.

Therefore pursuant to Section 12(1) of the FOIA this letter acts as a refusal notice for your request. Section 12(1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit.

In accordance with our responsibilities under Section 16 of the FOI Act, we can advise that we may be able to respond if you are able to refine your request, for example by requesting information about mental health patients, or by including fewer questions. As above, we cannot readily retrieve data for individuals based on their specific diagnoses or health conditions.

I hope that this answers your queries with the information we currently hold, but if I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your original letter and should be addressed to:

NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB
FOI Team
Scarsdale
Nightingale Close
Newbold
Chesterfield
S41 7PF

Or:

ddicb.foi@nhs.net

If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).

The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioners Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, telephone 0303 123 1113, email casework@ico.org.uk.

Yours faithfully,

Kathryn Jacklin
FOI Officer
Derby and Derbyshire ICB

All information we have provided is subject to the provisions of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015. Accordingly, if the information has been made available for re-use under the Open Government Licence (OGL) a request to re-use is not required, but the licence conditions must be met. You must not re-use any previously unreleased information without having the consent from the ICB. Should you wish to re-use previously unreleased information then you must make your request in writing (email will suffice) to the FOI Lead via ddicb.foi@nhs.net. All requests for re-use will be responded to within 20 working days of receipt.