Data tracking delay between referral receipt and elective surgery at public hospitals

Cail Young made this Freedom of Information request to Department of Health

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was partially successful.

Dear Department of Health,

I am familiar with performance.health.vic.gov.au but can not locate any statistics on the delays between referral to specialists and either the initial appointment or the entry in to the waiting list for elective surgery.

Could you please direct me to a data source for statewide information on the delay between receiving a referral and either of the above events at public hospitals, preferably broken down similarly to the waiting list statistics, eg by surgery categories, urgency categories etc.

If the data is not already available please consider this a formal FOI request to provide documents that contain data from all public hospitals the Department is responsible for that track the time between referral receipt and initial appointment for surgical specialists.

Yours faithfully,

Cail Young

FOI, Department of Health

Attention: Cail Young

I refer to your email below of 14 May 2018 to the Department of Health, seeking access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

Your request has been transferred to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) under section 16 of the FOI Act, as the subject matter of the documents you are seeking is more closely connected with the functions of that agency.

AIHW will be in contact with you in the near future about the processing of your request. You can contact AIHW via email at [email address] should you have any enquiries about your request.

Regards

FOI Unit

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Legal & Assurance Division
Australian Government Department of Health
T: (02) 6289 1666 | E: [Health request email]

PO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to elders both past and present.

-----Original Message-----
From: Cail Young [mailto:[FOI #4575 email]]
Sent: Monday, 14 May 2018 9:49 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Data tracking delay between referral receipt and elective surgery at public hospitals [SEC=No Protective Marking]

Dear Department of Health,

I am familiar with performance.health.vic.gov.au but can not locate any statistics on the delays between referral to specialists and either the initial appointment or the entry in to the waiting list for elective surgery.

Could you please direct me to a data source for statewide information on the delay between receiving a referral and either of the above events at public hospitals, preferably broken down similarly to the waiting list statistics, eg by surgery categories, urgency categories etc.

If the data is not already available please consider this a formal FOI request to provide documents that contain data from all public hospitals the Department is responsible for that track the time between referral receipt and initial appointment for surgical specialists.

Yours faithfully,

Cail Young

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #4575 email]

Is [Health request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Department of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

______________________________________________________________________
"Important: This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you receive this transmission in error please notify the author immediately and delete all copies of this transmission."

hide quoted sections

FOI, Department of Health

Attention: Cail Young

I refer to your email below of 14 May 2018 to the Department of Health, seeking access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

Your request has been transferred to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) under section 16 of the FOI Act, as the subject matter of the documents you are seeking is more closely connected with the functions of that agency.

AIHW will be in contact with you in the near future about the processing of your request. You can contact AIHW via email at [email address] should you have any enquiries about your request.

Regards

FOI Officer

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Legal & Assurance Division
Australian Government Department of Health
T: (02) 6289 1666 | E: [Health request email]

PO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to elders both past and present.

-----Original Message-----
From: Cail Young [mailto:[FOI #4575 email]]
Sent: Monday, 14 May 2018 9:49 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Data tracking delay between referral receipt and elective surgery at public hospitals [SEC=No Protective Marking]

Dear Department of Health,

I am familiar with performance.health.vic.gov.au but can not locate any statistics on the delays between referral to specialists and either the initial appointment or the entry in to the waiting list for elective surgery.

Could you please direct me to a data source for statewide information on the delay between receiving a referral and either of the above events at public hospitals, preferably broken down similarly to the waiting list statistics, eg by surgery categories, urgency categories etc.

If the data is not already available please consider this a formal FOI request to provide documents that contain data from all public hospitals the Department is responsible for that track the time between referral receipt and initial appointment for surgical specialists.

Yours faithfully,

Cail Young

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #4575 email]

Is [Health request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Department of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

______________________________________________________________________
"Important: This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you receive this transmission in error please notify the author immediately and delete all copies of this transmission."

hide quoted sections

FOI, Department of Health

Attention: Cail Young

I refer to your email below of 14 May 2018 to the Department of Health, seeking access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

Your request has been transferred to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) under section 16 of the FOI Act, as the subject matter of the documents you are seeking is more closely connected with the functions of that agency.

AIHW will be in contact with you in the near future about the processing of your request. You can contact AIHW via email at [email address] should you have any enquiries about your request.

Regards

FOI Officer

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Legal & Assurance Division
Australian Government Department of Health
T: (02) 6289 1666 | E: [Health request email]

PO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to elders both past and present.

-----Original Message-----
From: Cail Young [mailto:[FOI #4575 email]]
Sent: Monday, 14 May 2018 9:49 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Data tracking delay between referral receipt and elective surgery at public hospitals [SEC=No Protective Marking]

Dear Department of Health,

I am familiar with performance.health.vic.gov.au but can not locate any statistics on the delays between referral to specialists and either the initial appointment or the entry in to the waiting list for elective surgery.

Could you please direct me to a data source for statewide information on the delay between receiving a referral and either of the above events at public hospitals, preferably broken down similarly to the waiting list statistics, eg by surgery categories, urgency categories etc.

If the data is not already available please consider this a formal FOI request to provide documents that contain data from all public hospitals the Department is responsible for that track the time between referral receipt and initial appointment for surgical specialists.

Yours faithfully,

Cail Young

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #4575 email]

Is [Health request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Department of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

______________________________________________________________________
"Important: This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you receive this transmission in error please notify the author immediately and delete all copies of this transmission."

hide quoted sections

Dear Cail Young

We refer to your initial inquiry of 14 May 2018 (please see below) to the Commonwealth Department of Health, seeking access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

The Commonwealth Department of Health has transferred your inquiry to us, at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The information you seek are available from http://performance.health.vic.gov.au/Hom... where you will find state-wide reports on ‘Performance’.

If you click for example on this Performance report, http://performance.health.vic.gov.au/Hom... you will find the median time to urgent first appointments by speciality, with all Victorian health services compared against each other.

This link http://performance.health.vic.gov.au/Hom... has pdf reports of waiting times for both urgent and routine referrals, by speciality, with health services/hospitals compared against each other.

Please note that these reports have been developed and produced by the Victorian State Government, and not in partnership with the AIHW.

We hope that this information is of assistance to you.

Should you have any further questions, please contact Gary Kent (Governance Unit Head, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) on (02) 6244 1065.

Kind regards

Luke Coniston
Senior Legal Officer
FOI Team and Governance Unit | Business and Governance Group
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
GPO Box 570, Canberra, ACT 2601

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to the land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to their elders both past and present.

-----Original Message-----
From: FOI
Sent: Tuesday, 29 May 2018 12:40 PM
To: 'Cail Young'
Subject: Freedom of Information Request 323-1718 - Notification of transfer to another agency [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Attention: Cail Young

I refer to your email below of 14 May 2018 to the Department of Health, seeking access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

Your request has been transferred to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) under section 16 of the FOI Act, as the subject matter of the documents you are seeking is more closely connected with the functions of that agency.

AIHW will be in contact with you in the near future about the processing of your request. You can contact AIHW via email at [email address] should you have any enquiries about your request.

Regards

FOI Officer

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch
Legal & Assurance Division
Australian Government Department of Health
T: (02) 6289 1666 | E: [Health request email]

PO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to elders both past and present.

-----Original Message-----
From: Cail Young [mailto:[FOI #4575 email]]
Sent: Monday, 14 May 2018 9:49 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Data tracking delay between referral receipt and elective surgery at public hospitals [SEC=No Protective Marking]

Dear Department of Health,

I am familiar with performance.health.vic.gov.au but can not locate any statistics on the delays between referral to specialists and either the initial appointment or the entry in to the waiting list for elective surgery.

Could you please direct me to a data source for statewide information on the delay between receiving a referral and either of the above events at public hospitals, preferably broken down similarly to the waiting list statistics, eg by surgery categories, urgency categories etc.

If the data is not already available please consider this a formal FOI request to provide documents that contain data from all public hospitals the Department is responsible for that track the time between referral receipt and initial appointment for surgical specialists.

Yours faithfully,

Cail Young

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #4575 email]

Is [Health request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Department of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

______________________________________________________________________
"Important: This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you receive this transmission in error please notify the author immediately and delete all copies of this transmission."

hide quoted sections

Cail Young left an annotation ()

The reports linked here only go up to 2016 so I will raise another request with the Victorian DHS...

Dear FOI,

Thank you for the response. The PDF reports are definitely more what I was after, however it is disappointing that they stop at 2016.

I will contact the Victorian Department of Health to request more up to date data.

Yours sincerely,

Cail Young