Patient and family-initiated escalation of care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Patient and family-initiated escalation of care scheme to detect and refer patient deterioration on acute hospital wards: a feasibility study
IRAS ID
254551
Contact name
Donna Fitzsimons
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Involving patient and family members in the early recognition and referral of deterioration is a key area of research to improve patient safety in hospital. To date there is limited research addressing the experiences of patients and family in recognising deterioration or escalating care when concerned.
The purpose of this research study is to identify the experiences, educational needs and views of patients, family members and healthcare staff regarding the implementation of a patient and family-initiated escalation scheme to meet their needs.
This study is part of a larger study that will involve exploring the acceptability and feasibility of implementing a patient and family-initiated escalation of care scheme in a hospital in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI). The overall aim of the larger study is to design and test a patient and family-initiated intervention to improve the detection and escalation of patient deterioration on acute adult hospital wards.
This study, which is phase two of the larger study, will involve asking patients, relatives and healthcare staff (managers, doctors, nurses, and critical care outreach team members) via individual and focus group interviews, about their views and educational needs regarding the implementation of a patient and family-initiated escalation of care scheme.It will also involve accessing the patients’ medical and nursing records to understand their illness experience better. This information will then be used in Phase 3 to collaboratively develop with patients, family members and healthcare staff in NI and ROI a scheme that will best meet their needs. Phase 4 will involve implementing the scheme over 4-6 weeks after which healthcare staff will be asked about their experiences.
This will help to inform the implementation and acceptability of a patient and family-initiated scheme to detect patient deterioration on hospital wards.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EE/0061
Date of REC Opinion
4 Mar 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion