Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The responses to your query are detailed below:
Infectious waste:
How do you dispose of this waste?
o On-site Incineration
o Off-site Incineration (external contractor)
o Other high heat treatment (pyrolysis, etc) – please specify
o Low heat treatment (autoclave, microwave, etc – please specify)
o Chemical treatment (which chemicals are used if known)
o
Infectious waste is shredded and treated with Hydrogen Peroxide before landfill
Infectious waste is shredded and Heat treated before landfill
Anatomical, pharmaceutical and chemical waste is incinerated
How much do you pay for disposal (by weight or other metric used)?
The Trust does hold the information you have requested. However we are withholding this
information under section 43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to,
prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).
We consider that the costs of infectious waste disposal are commercially sensitive and its
disclosure would prejudice the Trust’s commercial interests. The reasons for this view are
as follows.
Infectious Waste services are currently provided by two different companies. The contracts
for infectious waste services will be tendered within the next twelve months. Releasing
details of present contracts could prejudice the Trust’s bargaining position with the any
waste companies. Disclosure would therefore have an adverse impact on the Trust’s ability
to achieve best value for money and thereby secure the best quality services for the
community it serves.
In arriving at the above decision, we have also considered the public interest test. On this
occasion, our analysis is that the public interest in maintaining the exemption is greater than
the public interest in disclosing the information. The Trust acknowledges the public interest
in promoting transparency about the expenditure of public money and the Trust’s
accountability for conduct of its financial affairs. However the Trust considers that the
public interest in enabling the Trust to achieve best value for money outweighs the public
interest in transparency at this time.
Which waste company do you use?
Tradebe for Heartlands Hospital, Solihull Hospital, Birmingham Chest Clinic, Runcorn Road
Renal Unit and Castle Vale Renal Unit.
SRCL for Good Hope Hospital.
Municipal solid waste (black bag):
How do you dispose of this waste?
o Incineration or other high heat treatment (please be as specific as possible)
All sites municipal waste is incinerated
o Landfill
o Other – please specify (eg material recovery facility)
o
How much do you pay for disposal (by weight or other metric used)?
Cost varies by Hospital site, average is £525 + VAT per lift
Which waste company do you use?
Birmingham City Council
If known, why does the hospital use this disposal option?
Do you segregate recyclables in clinical areas? If so, which materials are recycled
(eg plastic, metal, paper)?
No
Offensive waste:
Do you segregate ‘offensive waste’?
Yes
If so, how is this treated?
Landfill
How much do you pay for disposal (by weight or other metric used)?
The Trust does hold the information you have requested. However we are withholding this
information under section 43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to,
prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).
We consider that the costs of Offensive waste disposal are commercially sensitive and its
disclosure would prejudice the Trust’s commercial interests. The reasons for this view are
as follows.
Offensive Waste services are currently provided by two different companies. The contracts
for offensive waste services will be tendered within the next twelve months. Releasing
details of present contracts could prejudice the Trust’s bargaining position with the any
waste companies. Disclosure would therefore have an adverse impact on the Trust’s ability
to achieve best value for money and thereby secure the best quality services for the
community it serves.
In arriving at the above decision, we have also considered the public interest test. On this
occasion, our analysis is that the public interest in maintaining the exemption is greater than
the public interest in disclosing the information. The Trust acknowledges the public interest
in promoting transparency about the expenditure of public money and the Trust’s
accountability for conduct of its financial affairs. However the Trust considers that the
public interest in enabling the Trust to achieve best value for money outweighs the public
interest in transparency at this time.
Which waste company do you use?
Tradebe for Heartlands Hospital, Solihull Hospital, Birmingham Chest Clinic, Runcorn Road
Renal Unit and Castle Vale Renal Unit.
SRCL for Good Hope Hospital.
Sterilisation:
For re-usable instruments, do you have in-house sterilisation or is the equipment
sent off-site to a sterilisation centre?
The provision of services for the decontamination of reusable instruments has been
contracted out to B Braun Sterilog.
If items are processed off-site, which centre are they sent to?
The provision of services for the decontamination of reusable instruments has been
contracted out to B Braun Sterilog with decontamination services for the Heart of England
NHS Foundation Trust being carried out in the B Braun facility on the Yardley Green site of
Heartlands Hospital.
Procurement:
For the following single-use items, please provide the number purchased over a one
year period. If you purchase re-usable alternatives for any of these items, please do
not include these if possible. Please advise me if any of these items require further
clarification or if the list or time scale needs to be reduced to meet the time and cost
constraints on FoI requests. I will accept this information in the most convenient
form for you (a spreadsheet with lines for each purchase over the year rather than a
total for each device would be fine if this is easier).
Please see attached spreadsheet.