Request

Under the Freedom of Information Act, please can you provide the following information:

1) Under the NHS’s S2 funding scheme for treatment by patients abroad and the Maternity S2 scheme, how many people year on year has the NHS funded between April 01, 2022, to April 30, 2023?

1b) How much was paid for those people under the S2 scheme and the Maternity S2 scheme between April 01, 2022, to April 30, 2023?

1c) Can this be broken down into which countries the money was paid to and if so can you specify how much each country received between April 01, 2022, to April 30, 2023?

1d) Can it be broken down into different procedures? If so, can you list how many of each procedure was funded and how much was paid out for the different procedures between April 01, 2022, to April 30, 2023?

2) Can you repeat the above questions 1-1d for the following years:

April 01, 2021, to April 30, 2022 April 01, 2020, to April 30, 2021 April 01, 2019, to April 30, 2020 April 01, 2018, to April 30, 2019 April 01, 2017, to April 30, 2018

You subsequently clarified the time period requested as April 01 to March 31 each year

Your clarified request was received on 7 July 2023 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Response

Question 1d:

We are unable to provide a breakdown of the procedures that the S2s were used for, as we do not hold this data.

It is possible that NHS England may hold some or all of the information you require. They can be contacted at:

NHS England,
PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT. Telephone 0300 311 22 33 Email: england.contactus@nhs.net
https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/foi/

Remaining questions A copy of the information is attached. Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.

The table shows the number of claims paid and amounts accepted under Planned Treatment S2 and Maternity S2 entitlements. This is broken down into years and countries.

Please note:

The timeframe for each question is 01 April - 31 March for each year.

Question 1: We are unable to provide the number of patients with S2s. Instead, we have provided the number of claims against S2s. For example, the figures in the last two columns for Austria in 2017 - 2018 represent the number of claims received rather than the number of individuals who have made claims. Multiple claims may be received against one individual’s S2.

Question 1b: The values are displayed in GBP as per exchange rate on 13/07/2023; however, please be advised that the original claims were made and paid in the currency of the country associated with a claim.

Direct claims can be made under the S2 route when a customer is charged by the hospital, pays for treatment that the S2 covers and then submits a claim for reimbursement. The data in the table does not include these claims, as we are unable to establish which claims have been made under the S2 route, as opposed to those made under the UK EHIC or UK GHIC.

Fewer Than five Claims

Please be aware that I have decided not to release the practice details where the total number of claims falls below five. This is because the patients could be identified when combined with other information that may be in the public domain or reasonably available.

This information falls under the exemption in section 40 subsections 2 and 3A (a) of the Freedom of Information Act.

This is because it would breach the first data protection principle as: a) it is not fair to disclose patients' personal details to the world and is likely to cause damage or distress. b) these details are not of sufficient interest to the public to warrant an intrusion into the privacy of the patients.

Please click the below web link to see the exemption in full.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/40

Breach of patient confidentiality

Please note that the identification of patients is also a breach of the common law duty of confidence. A patient who has been identified could make a claim against the NHSBSA or yourself for the disclosure of the confidential information.

The information requested is therefore being withheld as it falls under the exemption in section 41(1) ‘Information provided in confidence’ of the Freedom of Information Act.

Please click the below web link to see the exemption in full.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/41