ACER V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing the Clinical and cost-Effectiveness of inpatient mental health Rehabilitation services provided by the NHS and independent sector (ACER)
IRAS ID
311434
Contact name
Helen Killaspy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Noclor on behalf of Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2022/02/127, UCL Data Protection Office
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Mental health rehabilitation services provide specialist treatment to people with particularly severe and complex problems. These services include inpatient units and supported accommodation in the community. When people have access to local rehabilitation services, most gain the skills to manage with less support over time, progressing from inpatient care to supported accommodation. However, over the last 15 years there have been major cuts to NHS rehabilitation services across England and increasing reliance on the independent sector. The Care Quality Commission reported in 2018 that over half the 4400 mental health inpatient rehabilitation beds in England were provided by the independent sector. They raised concerns that people were staying twice as long compared to people treated in NHS rehabilitation units and they were much further from their home. However, we do not know whether the services provided by the NHS and independent sector differ in quality or patient outcomes.
There have been no studies investigating the effectiveness of inpatient rehabilitation services that have included the independent sector. Our project, funded by the NIHR Health Services Delivery Research, aims to address this gap. As it is not feasible to conduct a randomised trial to compare services provided by the NHS and independent sector, we will use five different components, incorporating quantitative and qualitative methods, from which we will triangulate results:
1. A survey of 60 inpatient mental health rehabilitation services across England (30 NHS and 30 independent sector)2. In-depth interviews with users, relatives/carers, staff and commissioners of these services to explore their experiences and perspectives
3. Compare 18-month outcomes for 600 patients of the NHS and independent sector
4. Compare outcomes of all users of NHS and independent sector inpatient rehabilitation on a census date using anonymised records
5. Cost effectiveness analysis.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/NE/0067
Date of REC Opinion
28 Apr 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion