Clinical pathways for patients attending A&E in suicidal crisis.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Configuration and utilisation of clinical pathways by patients who attend A&E in suicidal crisis.
IRAS ID
298407
Contact name
Molly McCarthy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Liverpool John Moores University
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Suicide is a major public health issue. Although national data is available for individuals who attend A&E for self-harm and suicidal injury, there is no national data for those who attend in suicidal crisis. Furthermore, the clinical pathways available for service users after a presentation in suicidal crisis are complex and have not yet been examined systematically. Gaining greater insight into the configuration and utilisation of clinical pathways for service users in suicidal crisis will inform better modelling of service provision for these patients. Currently, data is collated by individual A&E and mental health trusts separately and does not allow a clear understanding of patient profiles and approaches to pathway management. This study will enable two mental health trusts across Cheshire and Merseyside to review 9 A&E departments’ hospital data for service users who attend in suicidal crisis. This research is required to determine whether data collection at A&E sites is acceptable and feasible for planning the most effective pathways for individuals who attend in suicidal crisis.
Working collaboratively with Cheshire and Wirral Partnership and Mersey Care NHS Trust, this study will evaluate:
(1) data at 9 A&E sites for individuals who attend in suicidal crisis,
(2) clinical pathways available to individuals who attend A&E in suicidal crisis,
(3) the patterns of pathway usage; and
(4) the similarities and differences across each service’s clinical pathways.The aim is to gain an understanding of how these visits are coded, and whether the pathways of care are consistent at each site. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore suicidal crisis data at A&E level. We want to test the feasibility across two trusts with the aim of developing a national data collection tool for A&E departments to track people who attend in suicidal crisis.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
21/WA/0178
Date of REC Opinion
27 May 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion