FOI 2026/1832

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please provide the following information:

1. Current patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDOC)

For the most recent date for which you hold data, please state the number of patients currently under your care (in NHS facilities or commissioned placements) who are recorded as being in:

• a coma

• a vegetative state (VS)
• a minimally conscious state (MCS)
• any other category of prolonged disorder of consciousness, if recorded

If you do not record these categories separately, please provide whatever equivalent classification you use.

2. Duration of condition

For each of the patients counted above, please provide (in aggregated form) how many have been in that state for:

• 0–6 months
• 6–12 months
• 1–5 years
• 5–10 years
• more than 10 years

If you use different duration bands, please provide your own.

3. Care setting

Please provide the number of these patients who are:

• cared for within your own NHS facilities
• cared for in commissioned external placements (e.g., private neurorehabilitation or long‑term care providers)

Data quality

For any part of this request, if you do not hold the information, please state so clearly.

If providing the information would exceed the cost/time limit, please advise how the request could be refined to fall within the statutory limits.

Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your response within 20 working days.

1.The Case management Team currently commission independent sector placements for requested assessment and rehabilitation for patients with Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness (PDoC)

We currently have 8 patients on commissioned placements in 3 independent sector placements.

These patients are either in assessment for PDoC state or rehabilitation for review of trajectory of change or identified goals.

2. The Case Management team do not fund long term placements – once the patient is determined ready for long term placement, they are either discharged to CHC funded or LA funded placements (dependent on the final status of the patient and the outcome of the CHC process)

Of the 6 placements we are currently case managing:

All are between 1-5yrs in a PDoC state.

X3 are in rehabilitation placements; x2 are in discharge planning phase, x1 is currently being reassessed following his rehabilitation to confirm current PDoC level before beginning discharge planning.

3. The case management team only commission Independent Sector placements.

We do not manage or hold the figures for current PDoC patients in acute settings. For this you would need to approach the provider NHS services:

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of information – Bolton NHS FT (boltonft.nhs.uk)

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information Requests :: Northern Care Alliance

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information – Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (mft.nhs.uk)

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information – Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information Requests :: Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care (tamesideandglossopicft.nhs.uk)

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – WWL Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | FOI Disclosure Log

For the number of patients in long term placements who remain in a PDoC state this information (if held) would be under either locality CHC teams, local authority social workers or GPs.