Delayed Discharge Changes - FOI Response Register

1. Please provide details of the health board’s discharge policy prior to Nicola Sturgeon’s request, which was announced on January 16, 2023, that all health boards review their delayed discharge numbers and procedures.

With regards to Q1, under FOISA s 14(2), NHS Shetland is not obliged to comply with a repeated request from the same requester, if it has recently complied with the original request.  Having reviewed your request, NHS Shetland has determined that the request is identical or substantially similar to your previous request of 18/01/23 (FOI 2022-656) and so is unable to provide the information requested; we have provided further justification for this decision below:

This question is identical to Q1 of FOI 2022-656 and as in both cases it relates to what a policy was at the same point in time the answer by definition cannot have changed.

2. Please provide details of what changes have been made to the health board’s delayed discharge numbers and procedures following this request from the First Minister.

I acknowledge I sent this same request back in January but it was too soon after the former First Minister's request for health boards to make any changes so I thought this would be a better time to ask again.

With regards to changes in delayed discharge numbers for Jan 2023 & Feb 2023, in accordance with FOISA s 16(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it holds the information requested but that it is exempt from disclosure under FOISA s 25(1) as the information requested is accessible without submitting a request under FOISA s 1(1). The information you have requested is available here:

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20508

With regards to changes in delayed discharge numbers for March 2023 & April 2023, in accordance with FOISA s 16(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it holds the information requested but that it is exempt from disclosure under FOISA s 27(1) as the information is already intended for publication by Public Health Scotland on 02/05/23 & 06/06/23 respectively.

The application of this exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure as this information is regularly published by Public Health Scotland for all Scottish health boards in a consistent format so as to avoid the need for members of the public to submit FOIs.

When published this information will be available at the following address:

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20508

With regards to changes in discharge policy, in accordance with FOISA s 16(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it holds the information requested but that it is exempt from disclosure under FOISA s 25(1) as the information requested is accessible without submitting a request under FOISA s 1(1). The information you have requested is available here:

https://www.shb.scot.nhs.uk/board/policies.asp

Under the title: Discharge Policy for Hospital Patients in Shetland. With a record of any changes made to the document available on page 3.