Cohort study of Intensive Community Support and Community Hospital.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A prospective cohort study of Intensive Community Support (ICS) and Community Hospital (CH) care in Leicestershire Partnership Trust and a feasibility study for a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of ICS versus Community Hospitals (CH)
IRAS ID
139477
Contact name
Andrew Wilson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Research summary
Intensive Community Support (ICS) has been launched by Leicestershire Partnership Trust (LPT) to provide an alternative to admission to community hospitals (CH) for patients requiring general rehabilitation. ICS offers the same service provision as CH, with the exception of 24h nursing care, and is provided in the patient’s home. The service is led by advanced nurse practitioners (ANP) with medical input from geriatricians. Currently, eligible patients are assessed by a Single Point of Access and offered either service, subject to availability. Average length of stay is about 25 days.
This prospective cohort study will provide preliminary data on the outcomes, cost and acceptability of the two services, and a qualitative study involving a subsample of the participants will examine patient, carer and other stakeholders’ views and preferences. In addition it will provide the opportunity to examine service preference and liklihood of consent in preparation for a larger, definitive trial.
Patients will be allocated to both services in the usual way, based on bed availability and patient preference at the Single Point of Access. Patients will be informed about the study and their consent to follow up during the subsequent three months will be sought after admission to ICS or CH (usually within 48 hours of admission). Recruitment will take place over a three month period and we expect to approach about 300 patients. A subsample of around 20 consenting patients will be recruited to the qualitative study.
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NW/0760
Date of REC Opinion
2 Dec 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion