Funding of Family Nursing and Home Care stoma care (FOI)

​​​​Request

Please advise the amount of funding that Family Nursing and Home Care (FNHC) receives for the provision of a dedicated stoma nurse and associated costs of this service for care in the community. 

Please provide documentation regarding Government of Jersey's decision to allow FNHC to reallocate this funding.

Please provide details of previous funding by year and future budget forecasts submitted by FNHC.

Please supply details of the number of Ostomy patients in Jersey (colostomy, Ileostomy, urostomy) and the costs of supplying medical provisions to these patients for care in the community by type.

Response

Family Nursing and Home Care (FNHC) are commissioned to provide district nursing and, as part of that, stoma care in the community. There is no contractual requirement for a dedicated stoma nurse specialist, and this care may be delivered through the district nursing service. 

FNHC receive Government funding for staff by way of a block contract to deliver community nursing services to islanders to meet agreed key performance indicators and outcome measures. FNHC budgets are not broken down to individual staff roles and it is not possible to provide the service cost information requested. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

FNHC are working with Health and Community Services (HCS) to review and develop stoma services across the island. Funding for any roles identified within the new pathway that is in development remain within the FNHC block contract.

Details of Government funding provided to FNHC are published in FNHC’s annual accounts, which can be accessed through the following link:

Financial statements and impact reports (fnhc.org.je)​

As this information is available elsewhere, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

FNHC note that there are currently approximately 190 people on island that have a stoma, 145 of whom have had no recent contact with their service. Many people self-care for their stomas.

HCS does not hold cost data for specific elements of care or medical supplies delivered through FNHC, and Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

FNHC do not hold information on the costs of medical provisions associated with stoma care. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

Articles applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.​