Released 20 June 2024
Request:
Mention was made in the latest set of Board papers of graduates from the Patient First Training Course.
Would it be possible to provide me with a copy of all of the material used on that training course?
Assistance provided to applicant under section 16 [duty to assist] on 31 May 2024:
The Trust has a responsibility under section 16 of the Act to provide assistance with FOI requests where possible and reasonable to do so.
The Patient First Training programme was developed by the Trust and, as such, is the intellectual property of this organisation and therefore considered to have commercial value. This innovative programme delivers a unique philosophy and methodology in which to transform and improve hospital services.
When information is disclosed under FOIA it is considered to have been disclosed to the world at large. Should the Trust disclose this information in this way, the Trust would essentially relinquish any ability to control further dissemination of this information. Once disclosed into the public domain, this unique training programme could be exploited and marketed to other healthcare providers at significant cost, including to other NHS organisations, which would not be in the best interests of the wider NHS. Where the disclosure of information through the FOIA process will prejudice the commercial interests of the organisations involved, section 43(2) [commercial interests] exemption can apply. We will provide further information about this exemption in our final response to your request where appropriate.
In the interim, however, we are writing to enquire about the purpose of your request and whether there are specific elements of the training programme you are most interested in?
If we can provide you with a number of extracts instead of the entire training programme, this would support the Trust in protecting the proprietary rights and integrity of these materials. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.
You might be interested to know that information about the Trust’s Patient First programme can be found our website, where you can also register to receive our newsletter and invitations to special events where you can hear from staff about the improvements they are making.
Reply received from applicant on 06 June 2024:
Thank you for your email and I understand why the training material should not be placed in the public domain.
My interest in the Patient First programme stems from an historical involvement in the development and implementation of Quality programmes in mobile telephony companies plus an understanding of the application of such a Quality programme within an NHS Acute Trust environment given that an individual ward or department within Acute Trust must be an environment in which activities are a matter of detailed record as a patient moves through their pathway.
I also happen to believe that a Quality Programme like Patient First will be fundamental to the success of the Integrated Community Teams that are being developed by the Sussex Integrated Care System.
Going forward would it be possible to receive a couple of documents or slides that explain/summarise how the Patient First process interacts with a patient’s care pathway as the patient moves through treatment and how the Patient First process improves the quality of the care received by each patient?
In line with the section 45 FOI Code of Practice, following receipt of your clarification the statutory deadline associated with the request was reset.
Information disclosed:
Please find attached presentation slides which include patient stories from three different teams that have gone through Patient First Improvement training and used the Patient First Improvement approach/tools/techniques to improve the patient experience. Some limited confidential information has been removed or obscured from these materials.
We hope this information is helpful but please get in touch if you require additional information. Information about the Trust’s Patient First programme can also be found our website, where you can register to receive our newsletter and invitations to special events where you can hear from staff about the improvements they are making.
Attachment:
Patient First Story – FOI Request June 2024 – Disclose1 (2MB pdf)