Released 28 June 2024
Initial request received 13 May 2024 (reference FOI240131)
Number of hysteroscopies
- Please provide the total number of hysteroscopies performed at your Trust annually between 2013 and 2023 (inclusive). If annual breakdowns are not available, please provide the reporting period and numbers.
- Of those hysteroscopies, what is the total number per year (2013-2023 inclusive) conducted in an “outpatient setting” (not requiring overnight stay)?
- Of all hysteroscopies performed, how many were performed each year (2013-2023 inclusive) without General Anaesthetic?
- Of those performed without General Anaesthetic what is the number of hysteroscopies per year (2013-2023 inclusive) attempted that failed (the procedure was attempted but not completed, rather than a ‘did not attend/missed appointment’)
- What is the total number of ‘did not attend/missed appointments’ for all hysteroscopies per year (2013-2023 inclusive)?
Hysteroscopy information delivery
2. Do you routinely provide patient information about hysteroscopy in advance of the procedure? Y/N
3. For the following, please feel free to select multiple options if applicable:
A. How is this information provided to the patient (via post, via email, in the waiting room, etc.)?
B. When is this information provided (i.e. at the hysteroscopy appointment, sent with their appointment letter, etc?)
C. What format does the information come in (verbal, written, video, etc.,)?
D. Please provide us with a copy of the standard patient information leaflet or give a link to your Hysteroscopy information
Assistance provided to applicant under section 16 [duty to assist] on 24 May 2024:
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has only 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. The legacy Trusts used different patient administration and reporting systems and therefore data relevant to periods of time prior to the merger will require separate research and validation. The Trust’s Business Intelligence service has advised that due to changes in our administration systems and subsequent upgrades following the merger, they can only reasonably provide data from April 2021 relevant to the merged Trust.
Therefore, can you please confirm you are happy to receive data from April 2021 through end December 2023?
Furthermore, due to the way that the information is recorded by the Trust’s data administration systems for question 1d, we are only able to provide information relevant to outpatient ‘did not attend / missed appointment’ activity, and not activity relevant to inpatient admissions.
Please can you confirm that you are happy to receive information on this basis?
With regard to question 1c, we are unable to provide information relevant to the number of procedures performed ‘without General Anaesthetic that failed’, on the basis that this information is not held centrally. The Trust does not have an electronic patient record system that would facilitate this type of reporting. Information relevant to this activity would only be recorded within the individual patient notes.
Section 12 provision [cost limit] of the FOIA is applicable at this time.
We should be able to provide the rest of the information that you have requested, and this will be included in our final response in due course.
Reply received from applicant on 4 June 2024:
Thank you for taking the time to explain the constraints to me. We would be pleased to receive any information you do have on hysteroscopies performed at your trust from 2021 onwards. I appreciate that the information may not be stored in the way we have requested on the template, so we would appreciate it if you could provide any information you do have so that we can extrapolate the relevant information at our end if this keeps the request below the 18 hours time investment on your part.
I agree to all the suggestions you made below and look forward to receiving your response.
In line with the section 45 FOI Code of Practice, the revised request was allocated a new reference number (our reference FOI240226) and the statutory deadline reset.
Information disclosed:
Please note 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. Information about the Trust’s hospitals can be found on our website.
We have provided information relevant to the merged Trust, unless noted otherwise.
1a. Please see the table below for information relevant to how many patients had a hysteroscopy performed at the Trust during the financial years 2021/2022 to 2023/2024:
| Year | Inpatient setting | Outpatient setting |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 to 2022 | 538 | 3304 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 688 | 3156 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 948 | 2859 |
1b. Please see the table below for information relevant to inpatient admissions and by anaesthetic type:
| Year | General anesthetic | Unknown | Spinal | Conscious sedation | Local | No anesthetic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/2022 | 528 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 |
| 2022/2023 | 673 | <5 | <5 | <5 | 6 | 6 |
| 2023/2024 | 945 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 |
| Totals | 2146 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 9 |
Please see the table below for information relevant to outpatient procedures:
| Year | Outpatients (under local anesthetic) |
|---|---|
| 2021/2022 | 3304 |
| 2022/2023 | 3156 |
| 2023/2024 | 2859 |
Please note that within the table above, where “≤5” is indicated, this data has been anonymised in line with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Anonymisation: Managing Data Protection Risk Code of Practice as it relates to the disclosure of information relevant to a small number of living people. We consider the disclosure of more specific information to be exempt under section 40(2) [personal information] exemption.
We have, however, added totals to our table to ensure our data was meaningful.
1c. Question withdrawn following s16 clarification.
1d. Please see the table below for information relevant to inpatient and outpatient ‘did not attend’ appointments by financial year. This information has been anonymised in line with the section 40(2) [personal information] exemption, as above.
| Year | Outpatients | Inpatients |
|---|---|---|
| 2021/2022 | 237 | 1 |
| 2022/2023 | 198 | 3 |
| 2023/2024 | 166 | 9 |
2. Yes
3a. How the information is provided depends on the referral source. Patients referred onto the service are given the information at the point of their referral. Other patients have the leaflet posted to them once they have been booked into the service.
3b. Please see the answer given for question 3a, above. In addition, patients will be sent a copy with their appointment letter in the post if time allows, for example if they are not booked at short notice into a cancellation slot, at hysteroscopy appointment.
3c. Written and verbal
3d. Please see the attached pdf [FOI240226 – Your visit to outpatient hysteroscopy June 24.pdf] for patients seen at the Royal Sussex County Hospital or Princess Royal Hospital (former Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust).
lease see the attached pdf [FOI240226 – Hysteroscopy patient information V11.pdf] for patients seen at Worthing Hospital or St. Richard’s Hospital (former Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust).
Additionally, there is information available on the Trust website for all patients waiting to be seen as an outpatient.
Attachments:
FOI240226 – Your visit to outpatient hysteroscopy June 24 (298kB pdf)
FOI240226 – Hysteroscopy patient information V11 (272kB pdf)