The ideal urgent and emergency care system: PHC Perspectives (v1.0)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The ideal urgent and emergency care system: public and healthcare staff perspectives
IRAS ID
245472
Contact name
Suzanne Mason
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
Increased patient demand in conjunction with increased system-wide pressures (such as insufficient staffing and economic constraints) has led to the conclusion that the urgent and emergency care (UEC) system is unsustainable in the long-term, unless significant changes are made.
There is increasing literature looking at how patients negotiate their way through the various UEC services (e.g. ambulance service, emergency departments). Other studies have looked at factors that influence patient satisfaction with UEC services. However, there is no known published research about what patients and/or the public actually want from UEC services, if given a choice.
Our proposed research is a small-scale exploratory study which aims to: (1) Identify what the ideal UEC system looks like from the public and healthcare staff perspectives; (2) Identify the key priorities for the ideal UEC system from the public and healthcare staff perspective; (3) Explore how the public and healthcare staff come up with their ideal UEC; (4) To test the ideal UEC system(s) using 'real-life' scenarios.
A qualitative study design will be used to conduct workshops (focus groups) over two stages with members of the public who have accessed UEC services and healthcare staff who are involved in the running of UEC services.
Stage 1: Up to 6 focus groups (up to 4 with members of the public; up to 2 with healthcare staff) will be conducted. Participants will be asked to design their ideal UEC system.
Stage 2: Up to 4 focus groups including a combination of members of the public and healthcare staff will be conducted. Participants will be asked to comment on the ideal UEC system(s) developed in stage 1 and presented with 'real-life' scenarios to test the new design(s).
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 1
REC reference
18/NS/0076
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion