January 2022

Request received

Please provide me with the following information for Cornwall Council.

1. 10 most common hospital admissions over the last 24 months.
2. Most common admission that is repeated by same patients across the last 24 months.
3. Total amount of admissions over the last 6, 12 and 24 months (including gender and age splits).
4. The amount of people admitted to hospitals for the following (over the last 24 months):
   • broken bones
   • joint and hip replacements
   • liver failure
   • stomach pump
   • ECG scan
   • CT scan
   • MRI scan
   • heart attack
   • heart failure, irregular heart rate or heart issues
   • lung disease
   • stroke
   • pneumonia
   • dehydration
   • optical surgery
   • skin infections
   • cancer and related complications (including chemotherapy)
   • labour and births
   • mental health illness complications
   • medical procedure complications

Our response

NHS Kernow is a clinical commissioning group responsible for the planning and commissioning of health care services. NHS Kernow does not hold the information requested.

Please email:

• Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
• University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Request received

1. Number of continuing healthcare (CHC) funding applications made in 2021 and 2020?
2. How many CHC funding applications were rejected in 2021 and 2020?
3. How much was the average funding awarded for CHC in 2021 and 2020?

Our response

1. Total referrals: 2020 = 1,956 (665 CHC and 1291 fast track); 2021 = 2,062 (893 CHC and 1169 fast track)
2. 2020: 245; 2021: 213
3. 2020: £789; 2021: £876

The financial values are per week. Home care package could be a little as £30 a week compared to bed cost of £1,200 per week.

Request received

1. How many continuing healthcare (CHC) packages were commissioned in 2020 and 2021? Please provide a figure for each year.
2. How much did the clinical commissioning group spend on CHC packages in 2021 and 2021? Please provide a figure for each year.
3. Of the commissioned packages, how many were the standard route and how many were fast tracked. Please provide a figure for each year.
4. If possible, please can you tell me how many packages in each year, had an identified level of need as severe in the drug therapies and medication domain?

Our response

1. 2020: 1,325; 2021: 1,190
2. 2020: £39,856,151; 2021: £35,502,352
3. For CHC 2020 = 560 and 2021 = 400. For Fast track: 2020 = 765 and 2021 = 790
4. Information not held.

Request received

1. Are there any statistics to show how many vaccines were administered at the Royal Cornwall Showground vaccination centre for the year ending 31 December 2021?

Our response

NHS Kernow does not hold the information requested. Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust manages this vaccination site and may hold the information requested. Email Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust.

Request received

How many patients have been issued a parking charge notice, whilst being vaccinated at the St Johns Church, St Austell vaccination centre?

Our response

NHS Kernow does not hold the information requested.

Request received

For the financial years 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021, provide a breakdown of the spending that makes up the purchase from non-NHS bodies category in your annual accounts. Please break down your spend by type of provider and sector.

1. Independent sector treatment centres and private providers (for example Bupa or Virgin Care).
2. Voluntary bodies.
3. Local authorities, devolved administrations, and other groups which provide:
   • primary healthcare
   • social care (learning difficulties)
   • mental health
   • maternity
   • general and acute
   • accident and emergency
   • community health services
4. Continuing care including different types of NHS funded care provided on continuous basis.

Our response

We do not hold a split between voluntary and social enterprises.

Email our FOI team for a copy of the response that was provided.

Request received

Total amount spent on agency temporary staff between January 2021 to December 2021 for:

• doctors
• nurses
• allied health professionals

Our response

• Doctors = 0.
• Nurses = £570.
• Allied health professionals = 0.

Request received

For questions 2 to 6, please provide information for the financial years 2020 to 2021 and the most up to date information for 2021 to 2022.

1. Name, email address and telephone number of the commissioner with responsibility for learning disabilities placements.
2. Total number of adults with learning disabilities funded by the CCG in residential care.
3. Of the total number of adults with learning disabilities funded in residential care, provide the number that are in in-area placements and the number that are in out of area placements.
4. Total number of adults with learning disabilities funded by the CCG in supported living.
5. Number of adults with learning disabilities who transitioned from children’s learning disabilities services into adult services (in total), residential care services, and supported living services.
6. Number of adults with learning disabilities who stepped down from specialist inpatient hospital placements into adult residential care and supported living services.
7. Total expenditure on residential care and supported living for adults with learning disabilities.
8. Highest, lowest, and average weekly rate paid by the CCG for residential care placements for adults with a learning disability. If the CCG has weekly rate bands, please also provide these.
9. Highest, lowest, and average hourly rate paid by the CCG for supported living placements for adults with a learning disability. If the CCG has hourly rate bands, please also provide these.

Our response

NHS Kernow does not release the names of employees below director level. The director with responsibility for learning disabilities placements is John Groom, director for planned care. Email John Groom or call 01726 627800.

Email our FOI team for a copy of the document with responses for questions 2 to 9.

Request received

1. In the financial year 2020 to 2021, how many patients were transported from the Isles of Scilly to the mainland by search and rescue resources provided by Bristows and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency?
2. What was the cost of undertaking these transfers?

Our response

NHS Kernow does not hold the information requested. South West Ambulance Service are the providers of this service and emergency helicopter transport is included in the block contract. For more information, email the South West Ambulance Service FOI team or complete their Freedom of Information form.

Request received

1. What software are you currently using for your website?
2. What team or individual is responsible for maintaining your website?
3. Do you work with an external supplier to maintain your website, if so when does your contract expire?
4. When did you last conduct an accessibility audit against your public website?
5. What team or individual is responsible for digital accessibility across your public facing services?
6. Total budget for digital accessibility?
7. What is your annual marketing and communications budget for creating content for residents?
8. Do you work with external marketing and communications suppliers to create content for your public facing services?
9. When was the last time you conducted a content audit on your website to remove outdated content?

Our response

1. WordPress.
2. Communications and engagement team.
3. No.
4. Audits are carried out on a monthly basis.
5. As answer 2.
6. Zero.
7. Zero.
8. No, all content is created in-house by the communications and engagement team, or by providers commissioned by NHS Kernow.
9. November 2021.

Request received

How much has NHS Kernow paid management consultants to implement a sustainability and transformation partnership or integrated care partnership in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly?

Our response

Zero.

Request received

1. Contact details for the medicines management team who are responsible for the blood glucose meters formulary.
2. Date of the next review of your formulary in respect of blood glucose meters.
3. Link for the current blood glucose meter formulary, showing the first line meter choices.
4. How do you intend to review your formulary (detail to include process, time lines)?
5. Is your CCG part of a local partnership arrangement for formulary review?
6. Provide the names of other CCG’s included in the arrangement and the contact name, email address and telephone number for the person with responsibility for blood glucose meters.
7. Name and email address of the clinical pharmacist within each primary care network (PCN). If this information is not available, provide information for PCN clinical leads.

Our response

1. NHS Kernow does not release the names of employees below director level. The formulary is looked after by the medicines management team.
2. September 2024.
3. Blood glucose monitoring in adult patients formulary guidelines.
4. This will be subject to confirmation following formation of integrated care board.
5. No.
6. Not applicable.
7. Not applicable as a clinical pharmacist is not allocated to each PCN.
8. NHS Kernow exempts the release of the information requested under section 21 of the act. Information about the PCN clinical leads is reasonably accessible as this information is published on our website.

Request received

1. All documents relating to the medicine optimisation team search on GP clinical systems for all patients prescribed in the extract of the minutes from the 10 December 2020 primary care commissioning committee. This should include the data protection impact assessment.
2. How many patients were issued with the letters set out relating to the 10 December 2020 primary care commissioning committee.
3. How many complaints have been received relating to 8 April 2021 primary care commissioning committee.

Our response

1. Following the meeting this work was paused and no searches have been completed or letters sent. It is not known when or if this work will recommence.
2. None.
3. None.

Request received

On the 15 September 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) released an alert on topical corticosteroids. The alert included advice for healthcare professionals on how to reduce the risk of severe adverse effects that can occur on stopping treatment with topical corticosteroids.

1. Confirm if this alert has been discussed in any committees? If so I would like to know when this was discussed and see the minutes of the meeting.
2. Are GPs under your management are aware of this alert?
3. What your plans are to monitor patients who are exhibiting symptoms of topical steroid withdrawal reactions?

Our response

1. Presented to medicines optimisation programme board on 23 September 2021. Meeting minutes attached. The MHRA alert was also circulated at the Cornwall Area prescribing committee on 3 November 2021. Please email our FOI team for a copy of the meeting minutes.
2. The MHRA alert was brought to the attention of GP practices in the weekly prescribing newsletter sent out on 20 September 2021. With a reminder shared at prescribing leads meetings in November. This is in addition to direct communications from the MHRA.
3. This will be for GP practices to determine, if necessary. The MHRA concluded that “We are unable to estimate the frequency of these reactions. However, given the number of patients who use topical corticosteroids, we understand reports of severe withdrawal reactions to be very infrequent”.

Request received

1. Are there any signed for any of the following products, and if so, which ones:
   • insulins (basal, bolus and premix)
   • GLP-1 (for example Trulicity)
   • DPP-IV (for example Januvia or Onglyza)
   • SGLT-2 (for example Invokana)
   • growth hormones (Norditropin; Omnitrope; Genotropin; Humatrope; NutropinAq; Saizen)
2. What are the start and finish dates (or ongoing if open ended)?
3. Which rebates are independent or are they aligned to PrescQIPP?
4. What is the total number of primary rebate schemes (any included) that your CCG has signed?

Our response

NHS Kernow exempts the release of the information requested under section 21 of the act. Information is reasonably accessible to the applicant by other means. This exemption is engaged for the following reason:

• prescribing rebate information is publicly available on our website in our publication scheme

Request received

1. What is the current average waiting time for a musculoskeletal (MSK) physiotherapy appointment for a new referral or self-referral for lower back pain?
2. How has the waiting time for MSK physiotherapy appointments for lower back pain changed over the historical time period for which you have data? If possible, an annual figure for each of the last 5 to 10 years would be most helpful.
3. How many patients within your region are currently on the waiting list for physiotherapy services for lower back pain?
4. How many patients within your region are currently on the waiting list for physiotherapy services across all MSK conditions?
5. Are patients within your commissioning region able to self-refer to MSK physiotherapy services for lower back pain as opposed to relying on a GP referral? If yes, what proportion of new patient referrals to physiotherapy services for low back pain are now self-referrals?
6. What percentage of general practice appointments within your commissioning region are for back pain?
7. What is the average healthcare spend per patient in your region for non-specific low back pain?
8. How does the average healthcare spend per patient for non-specific low back pain break down across different services and costs?
9. Do you currently commission NHS MSK physiotherapy services from private providers? If yes, what proportion of your overall MSK physiotherapy spend is with private providers?

Our response

1. NHS Kernow does not hold this information. Contact individual providers for this information. View a list of providers.
2. As question 1.
3. As question 1.
4. See response to question 1
5. NHS Kernow does not hold this information, contact individual providers for this information.
6. NHS Kernow does not hold this information.
7. As question 6.
8. As question 6.
9. Yes, 15%.