Released 7 December 2022
Request:
Please provide me with details of any placements, secondments or other work, training or study-related collaboration undertaken at your organisation in the last five years with organisations based in China.
This could include, but is not limited to, training courses delivered, exchange programmes offered, or secondments to your organisation for knowledge sharing.
Please provide the date the collaboration started and ended, the name of the organisation, which department the collaboration was related to and (if applicable) the names of any of the Chinese organisation’s staff members who worked/undertook training/took part in secondments etc at your organisation for any period of time.
Information disclosed:
Please note that University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has been in operation since 1 April 2021, following the merger of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Legacy Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust offered an Overseas Clinical Observership Programme with the UK-China Medical Exchange that started in 2014 with the last cohort of doctors due to arrive from China in March 2020 cancelled because of the pandemic.
Specialist Consultants from various hospitals in China shadowed consultants in a number of Trust hospitals for a 3 month period, with around 8-10 doctors in each cohort. It is estimated that around 140 doctors were hosted by Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust during this period.
The departments involved in the programme included: Paediatrics, ICU, A&E, HIV/GUM, Cardiology, Orthopaedics, General Surgery, Neonatology, Obstetrics, Gynaecology, Neurology, Ophthalmology and Renal Medicine. In return, some of the Trust’s consultants involved in the programme went on several official visits to participating hospitals in China. The programme was part of a wider education programme with other Trusts taking part across the country, which was part of a government initiative to share knowledge and improve healthcare in both countries – please see attached information taken from the Gov.UK website.
UK and China agree 70 million of business in health sectors (239kB)
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has yet to restart the programme.
The names of the doctors involved in the programme are exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) [personal information] exemption on the grounds that this information amounts to personal data. The engagement of s.40(2) in this case is considered absolute and is not subject to further public interest considerations.