With more than 1,000,000 adults in the West Midlands classed as obese, locals are invited to attend a health seminar to learn about bariatric surgery, a surgical procedure used to treat people who are dangerously obese.

Mr Rishi Singhal, bariatric consultant and upper GI surgeon at Heartlands Hospital, will take to the floor to provide an overview of bariatric surgery (also known as weight loss surgery), types of weight loss surgery as well as discussing ways of preventing obesity.

Mr Singhal said: “The West Midlands has one of the highest rates of obesity in the United Kingdom so it is important for us to work with the community to advise on how obesity can be prevented and kept under control.

“I hope that by hosting the seminar, locals will be encouraged to come along to learn about bariatric surgery as well as the benefits and risks associated with this surgical procedure.”

The talk will take place on Wednesday 22 March at Heartlands Hospital at 5pm. To book your place on the seminar, please contact Sandra White, membership and community engagement manager, on 0121 424 1218 or email: sandra.white@heartofengland.nhs.uk.

Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust which covers Heartlands Hospital, Solihull Hospital and Good Hope Hospital as well as some community based services, runs monthly health seminars to help raise awareness of a range of health conditions, as well as providing information about the treatment and support that is available.

Public Health England defines an outbreak as:

• an incident in which two or more people experiencing a similar illness are linked in time or place · a greater than expected rate of infection compared with the usual background rate for the place and time where the outbreak has occurred 
• a single case for certain rare diseases such as diphtheria, botulism, rabies, viral haemorrhagic fever or polio 
• a suspected, anticipated or actual event involving microbial or chemical contamination of food or water

Please specify how your trust defines an outbreak.

• an incident in which two or more people experiencing a similar illness are linked in time or place
• a greater than expected rate of infection compared with the usual background rate for the place and time where the outbreak has occurred

In the last five years, please list each outbreak the trust has declared due to the following organisms:

– Vancomycin-resistant enterococci: None

– Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA):  Please see Attachment 1 and notes below

– Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBLs) producing Gram-negative bacteria: None

-Carbapenem resistant enterobacteriaceae: None

-Carbapenemase producing organism: Please see attachment 1 and notes below

-Drug resistant Acinetobacter: None

-Drug resistant pseudomonas: None

For each case please specify

-The organism causing the outbreak (eg for carbapenemase producing organisms specify Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase): See attached

-Date the outbreak was declared and date it was declared over: see attached

-Number of confirmed cases and number of probable cases: There were no probable cases, only confirmed cases for each of the outbreaks which are shown on the attached document.

-Description of control measures, eg whether wards were closed, patients put in isolation rooms, hydrogen peroxide vapour  used to clean rooms etc. For ward closures please give details of ward type and size (eg 30-bed renal ward) See attached

-Whether the outbreak was reported to Public Health England, and if so, the date it was reported None of the outbreaks were formally reported to PHE

-Date audit report, outbreak investigation, infection control committee report (or equivalent report) was published: None of the outbreak investigations or audit reports were published

For each of the hospitals your trust runs, please can you tell me the following, preferably broken down by hospital if this is possible. If not, the overall Trust figures would be great.

1) Do you have vending machines selling chocolate or sweets in portions larger than 250g per item?

The vending machines are stocked and managed by an external company and we have been working with them to reduce the size of the chocolate bars, high fat, high sugar products etc. there are no chocolate bars or sweets that exceed 250gms. The existing vending contract has been reviewed and new machines will replace the existing ones which will display all the relevant product information and meet the requirements of the CQUIN.

 2) Do you have any fast food chains in your trust, such as Burger King, Costa Coffee, Starbucks, pizza chains, Subway, Pret or Greggs? Please list.

 There are no fast food establishments operating on any of the Trust sites. However, as part of the PFI agreement at Heartlands Hospital the restaurant in the main entrance is run by an external contract which incorporates a coffee shop serving Starbucks coffee.

The Trust runs coffee shops at Good Hope and Solihull Hospitals and serves Costa Coffee under the ‘Proud to Serve’ flag but they are not Costa Coffee stores. In addition to this WH Smith are operating on Good Hope and Solihull sites and Marks & Spencer, Simply Food, has recently opened at Heartlands Hospital. The RVS run a small coffee shop on the Good Hope site

3) If YES, will these chains meet the NHS England health eating targets set for March 2017?

It is anticipated that above retail units will achieve the targets required for March 2017

 4) If they will not meet the healthy eating targets, please explain how they have failed to meet them, including details.

These issues will be identified during the audit

 5) What action will be taken after March 2017 on food outlets that fail to comply?

Audits will be carried out across all retail units to identify the level of compliance and detailed action plans will be requested that identify how the non compliant issues will be addressed.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, please could you provide me with the following information for 2016, or for the most recent year for which you have data? Please could you also let me know which hospital the data refers to within your trust, if this is possible?

Information is provided below from 13/2/2016 to 13/2/2017

1.)   Could you tell me HOW MANY of each of the following snack foods did the trust buy FOR PATIENTS:

a) Bars of chocolate – Not provided to patients

b) Packets of crisps – Not provided to patients

c) Cakes and muffins and cake bars:

A selection of cakes are provided in order to increase the calorie intake of patients for a variety of medical reasons, following advice from the dietetic department.

d) Packs of biscuits:

e) Bags of sweets – Not provided to patients

2.)  Please could you tell me HOW MANY of each of the following snack foods did the trust buy for staff / visitor shops or canteens?

STAFF/VISITORS:

3.)  How much did the trust spend on EACH of the above categories? Can this also be broken down into food for patients and food for staff/visitors? As tabled above

4.)  How many items of fresh fruit did the trust buy in 2016 and what was the cost. We do not hold the number of items bought  as we are unable to identify the number  of items purchased as the fruit is delivered in different weight configurations. The cost of fresh fruit is shown below:

5.)  Can the trust say if the fresh fruit was for patients or for visitors/staff?

Fresh fruit is available in the Trust run restaurants and coffee shops however there is no data to show whether this was purchased for patients, visitors or staff.

Please could you provide the following information:

1a) total number of deaths that have occurred at the Trust in each of the the last five years (please provide data broken down by year)

1b) the number of these deaths that were classified as unexpected

2a) total number of deaths that have been referred to the Coroner by the Trust in each of the last five years

2b) of these, the number of deaths of patients with a learning disability referred to the Coroner

3a) total number of deaths of patients with a learning disability that have occurred at the Trust in each of the last five years (please provide total number and indicate whether they were inpatients at the time of their deaths)

3b) of these, the number of these deaths of patients with a learning disability that were classified as unexpected

4a) total number of deaths at the Trust reported as an incident on the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) in each of the last five years

4b) total number of deaths at the Trust reported on Strategic Executive Information System (STEIS) in each of the last five years

4c) if possible, please indicate the number of these that relate to patients with a learning disability

5a) total number of initial 72-hour reviews into deaths (as defined by the NHS Serious Incident Framework) in each of the last five years

5b) total number of investigations into deaths (as defined by the NHS SI Framework) in each of the last five years – please provide data broken down by severity, Level 1 internal investigations, Level 2 comprehensive internal investigations, Level 3 independent investigations. Please also indicate whether the numbers refer to investigations opened or completed.

Please see attached FOI5015

Is the treatment listed below routinely available to patients according to it’s NICE TAG?

Aflibercept for treating visual impairment caused by macular oedema after branch retinal vein occlusion [TA409] Yes

Confirmation means that patients do not have to use Individual Funding Requests to access this treatment.

Please could you send RNIB your commissioning policy for cataract surgery. Please indicate the review date of this policy.

This is attached and is reviewed annually Clinical Commissioning Group Policy for Cataracts

i.            For 2016 the total number of physical attacks/assaults that took place in the trust on:

a) staff (both clinical and administrative) – 305 recorded

b) patients – 33 recorded

c) visitors – 3 recorded

ii.            Where known any details of the assault (redacted where necessary to protect confidentiality).  The Trust does hold this information, however we estimate that compliance with your request would exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12 of the Freedom of information Act 2000. This is currently £450 and relates to the cost of reviewing individual records.

iii.            The number of times that the police were called following the instances above. We do not hold this information

iv.            How much money does the trust spend on security staff (or sub-contractors)? The cost of the security and car parking contract is £1,483,568

v.            Does the trust use on-body cameras in the hospital in any form?  The security officers use on-body cameras at our Heartlands hospital site on the car parks.

Please can you provide me with the requested data below:-

The number of patients who have been taken to the Royal Courts of Justice Court of Protection, to have a DNR placed upon their lives by your hospital. I would like to know if the patient had a Lasting Power of Attorney and the sex, age, ethnicity of the patients and the length of time each case took & outcomes of each case. I would like this information for the last five years.

 There have been no court of protection cases within the past 5 years relating to DNR. 

1) Does your trust hold stocks of the following Cyanide poisoning antidotes: Cyanokit (hydroxocobalamin), Sodium Nitrite, Sodium Thiosulfate and Dicobalt Edetate?

• If yes, what is your stock volume and total expenditure by financial year from FY11-12 to present day for each individual medication?
• If yes, what is the price paid per unit for each medication type?

2) Does your trust hold stocks of Levothyroxine in the following forms: Tablets ( 25mcg, 50mcg & 100mcg), Oral solution (25mcg/5ml, 50mcg/5ml, 100mcg/5ml) and Levothyroxine solution for injection (IV or IM)

• If yes, what is your stock volume and total expenditure by financial year from FY11-12 to present day for each individual medication?
• If yes, what is the price paid per unit for each medication type?

3)Does your trust hold stocks of Primidone in the following forms: tablets (50mg & 250mg)

• If yes, what is your stock volume and total expenditure by financial year from FY11-12 to present day for each individual medication?
• If yes, what is the price paid per unit for each medication type?

Please see attached FOI5060

I would like to make the following request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

1. The names of the hospitals within your trust/board that contain asbestos.
There are asbestos containing materials in buildings on all three hospitals sites and at the Chest Clinic, although we are only tenants and not the landlord of the Chest Clinic.

2. How many reported incidents of asbestos exposure have there been in these hospitals between 2006 and 2016.

Between 2006 and 2016 there has been 1 reported incident of asbestos exposure.

3. The number of hospital staff (existing and retired staff to include both medical and non medical staff) and patients that have pursued a claim against you for exposure to asbestos within a hospital run by your trust/board.

Two (please note these were not between 2006 and 2016)

4. The number of these claims that have been settled.

We do not hold this information. Please contact the NHSLA who may be able to provide this: foi@nhsla.com

5. The amount of money that has been paid in settlement of these claims (with and without your trust/board accepting responsibility).

We do not hold this information. Please contact the NHSLA who may be able to provide this:  foi@nhsla.com