National Health Service Trusts Research Articles

Attitudes of cardiac rehabilitation and stroke teams towards integration of stroke survivors into adapted cardiac rehabilitation: A focus group study.

To explore the attitudes and beliefs of cardiac rehabilitation and stroke teams towards adapted cardiac rehabilitation, and the broader topics of exercise, healthy lifestyles and health behaviour change, for people with mild-to-moderate severity stroke in the sub-acute phase of recovery. Qualitative focus group-based study. Acute and community national health service trusts. Stroke and cardiac rehabilitation team members. Adapted cardiac rehabilitation. Focus groups. Thematic analysis was applied to the transcribed data. Overall, 57 health professionals participated in 12 focus groups. Positive impacts for teams and stroke survivors were identified particularly confidence. However, there were negatives, barriers and adaptations identified. In addition, there was a lack of knowledge for cardiac rehabilitation teams in relation to stroke survivors and stroke teams in relation to cardiac rehabilitation, exercise and healthy lifestyles. Cardiac rehabilitation and stroke staff attitudes to cardiac rehabilitation for stroke survivors showed a range of benefits, negatives, barriers and adaptations needed. Confidence and knowledge of the cardiac rehabilitation and stroke teams needs to be addressed. ISRCTN65957980.

Understanding weight management in adult secure mental health services: findings from a mixed-methods study in Northern England

Purpose Obesity and associated morbidity and mortality are major challenges for people with severe mental illness, particularly in secure (forensic) mental health care (patients who have committed a crime or have threatening behaviour). This study aims to explore experiences of weight management in secure mental health settings. Design/methodology/approach This study used a mixed-methods approach, involving thematic analysis. A survey was delivered to secure mental health-care staff in a National Health Service (NHS) mental health trust in Northern England. Focus groups were conducted with current and former patients, carers and staff in the same trust and semi-structured interviews were undertaken with staff in a second NHS mental health trust. Findings The survey received 79 responses and nine focus groups and 11 interviews were undertaken. Two overarching topics were identified: the contrasting perspectives expressed by different stakeholder groups, and the importance of a whole system approach. In addition, seven themes were highlighted, namely: medication, sedentary behaviour, patient motivation, catered food and alternatives, role of staff, and service delivery. Practical implications Secure care delivers a potentially “obesogenic environment", conducive to excessive weight gain. In future, complex interventions engaging wide-ranging stakeholders are likely to be needed, with linked longitudinal studies to evaluate feasibility and impact. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to involve current patients, former patients, carers and multidisciplinary staff across two large NHS trusts, in a mixed-methods approach investigating weight management in secure mental health services. People with lived experience of secure services are under-represented in research and their contribution is therefore of particular importance.

HOW MUCH DO HIP ARTHROPLASTIES COST? THE BURDEN AND BUDGET IMPACT OF IMPLANTS AND HIP ARTHROPLASTY ON THE NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM FOR ENGLAND AND WALES

Total hip replacement (THR) is one of the most common and cost-effective elective surgical procedures. In the National Health Service (NHS) of England and Wales a myriad of implants for THR are offered at a variety of locally negotiated prices. This study aims to estimate the total burden of elective THR to the NHS, expenditure on implants, and different scenarios of cost changes if implant selection changed for different patient groups.Using National Joint Registry (NJR) data and NHS reference costs, we estimated the number and expenditure of NHS funded primary and revision THR in the 10-year period 2008–2017 and forecasted the number and expenditure on THR over the next decade. Using NJR average NHS Trust prices for the different implant combinations we estimated the average cost of implants used in THRs and estimated the budget impact on NHS providers from switching to alternative implants.The NHS spent over £4.76 billion performing 702,381 THRs between 2008–2017. The average cost of implants was £1,260 per surgery, almost a fifth of the cost of primary THR. Providing cemented implant combinations in primary elective THRs may potentially save up to £281 million over the next 10 years, whilst keeping 10-year revision risks low.The NHS is likely to spend over £5.6 billion providing primary elective THR over the next decade. There are efficiency savings to realise in the NHS by switching to more cost-effective implant combinations available for patients undergoing primary elective THR surgery, but these will need to be balanced against the risks inherent to a change in selection of implants and surgical practice. The HIPPY programme will be conducting practice surveys, discrete choice experiments and a large randomised controlled trial of cemented, uncemented and hybrid fixation in THR for patients under 70 to answer uncertainties.

Identifying barriers to outpatient appointment attendance in patient groups at risk of inequity: a mixed methods study in a London NHS trust.

There is significant health inequity in the United Kingdom (U.K.), with different populations facing challenges accessing health services, which can impact health outcomes. At one London National Health Service (NHS) Trust, data showed that patients from deprived areas and minority ethnic groups had a higher likelihood of missing their first outpatient appointment. This study's objectives were to understand barriers to specific patient populations attending first outpatient appointments, explore systemic factors and assess appointment awareness. Five high-volume specialties identified as having inequitable access based on ethnicity and deprivation were selected as the study setting. Mixed methods were employed to understand barriers to outpatient attendance, including qualitative semi-structured interviews with patients and staff, observations of staff workflows and interrogation of quantitative data on appointment communication. To identify barriers, semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients who missed their appointment and were from a minority ethnic group or deprived area. Staff interviews and observations were carried out to further understand attendance barriers. Patient interview data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis to create a thematic framework and triangulated with staff data. Subthemes were mapped onto a behavioural science framework highlighting behaviours that could be targeted. Quantitative data from patient interviews were analysed to assess appointment awareness and communication. Twenty-six patients and 11 staff were interviewed, with four staff observed. Seven themes were identified as barriers - communication factors, communication methods, healthcare system, system errors, transport, appointment, and personal factors. Knowledge about appointments was an important identified behaviour, supported by eight out of 26 patients answering that they were unaware of their missed appointment. Environmental context and resources were other strongly represented behavioural factors, highlighting systemic barriers that prevent attendance. This study showed the barriers preventing patients from minority ethnic groups or living in deprived areas from attending their outpatient appointment. These barriers included communication factors, communication methods, healthcare the system, system errors, transport, appointment, and personal factors. Healthcare services should acknowledge this and work with public members from these communities to co-design solutions supporting attendance. Our work provides a basis for future intervention design, informed by behavioural science and community involvement.

Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on audiology service delivery: Observational study of the role of social media in patient communication.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted an era in hearing health care that necessitates a comprehensive rethinking of audiology service delivery. There has been a significant increase in the number of individuals with hearing loss who seek information online. An estimated 430 million individuals worldwide suffer from hearing loss, including 11 million in the United Kingdom. The objective of this study was to identify National Health Service (NHS) audiology service social media posts and understand how they were used to communicate service changes within audiology departments at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Facebook and Twitter posts relating to audiology were extracted over a six week period (March 23 to April 30 2020) from the United Kingdom. We manually filtered the posts to remove those not directly linked to NHS audiology service communication. The extracted data was then geospatially mapped, and themes of interest were identified via a manual review. We also calculated interactions (likes, shares, comments) per post to determine the posts' efficacy. A total of 981 Facebook and 291 Twitter posts were initially mined using our keywords, and following filtration, 174 posts related to NHS audiology change of service were included for analysis. The results were then analysed geographically, along with an assessment of the interactions and sentiment analysis within the included posts. NHS Trusts and Boards should consider incorporating and promoting social media to communicate service changes. Users would be notified of service modifications in real-time, and different modalities could be used (e.g. videos), resulting in a more efficient service.

National variation in guidance for the management of pregnant women presenting with major trauma.

The initial assessment of pregnant women presenting with significant injuries is more complicated than that of non-pregnant women because of physiological and anatomical changes, and the presence of the fetus. The aim of this study was to determine whether guidelines for the early management of severely injured pregnant women exist, which aspects of assessment/management they cover and to what extent there is national consistency. A freedom of information request was submitted to 125 acute National Health Service trusts in England and six in Wales. The trusts were asked to confirm whether they have a guideline for the management of major trauma in pregnant women presenting to the emergency department and what the guidelines were. In total, 96.2% of trusts responded, of which 19% have a specific guideline and 7.9% have a generic guideline for assessing pregnant women in the emergency department, irrespective of injury severity. Of the responding trusts, 19.8% have a protocol that specifies when an obstetric trauma call should be put out by the emergency department and when a pregnant woman should be transferred to a major trauma centre for definitive management. Our results found that 69.8% routinely call obstetrics or gynaecology to the trauma call compared with 36.5% calling paediatrics. The heterogeneity evident across trusts necessitates the establishment of national guidelines for the assessment of pregnant women with major trauma to standardise communication and delivery of care.

The development of the PPN equality, diversity, and inclusion audit tool: What it is and how to use it?

There are a host of initiatives within the National Health Service (NHS) to increase the diversity of the workforce. The Psychological Professions Network (PPN) is funded by NHS England to enable a membership network and a platform for discussion, consultation, and development across the psychological professions. Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are key priorities for the NHS workforce, and the PPN South-East (PPN SE) commissioned a project aimed at exploring the facilitators and barriers to increasing the diversity of the workforce. As part of this project, following stakeholder consultation, the PPN SE EDI Audit Tool was devised to aid the development of effective and accountable EDI action plans based upon increasing the diversity of expert by experience involvement, students/trainees, and the NHS workforce. The aim of this paper is to provide a rationale for the Audit Tool, and detail step by step instructions explaining how to complete it, to help with accountability and planning for Psychological Training Programmes, Higher Education Institutions, Professional Bodies and NHS Trusts.

Qualitative study exploring the design of a patient-reported symptom-based risk stratification system for suspected head and neck cancer referrals: protocol for work packages 1 and 2 within the EVEREST-HN programme

IntroductionBetween 2009/2010 and 2019/2020, England witnessed an increase in suspected head and neck cancer (sHNC) referrals from 140 to 404 patients per 100 000 population. 1 in 10 patients are...

Implementing and Evaluating a National Integrated Digital Registry and Clinical Decision Support System in Early Intervention in Psychosis Services (Early Psychosis Informatics Into Care): Co-Designed Protocol.

Early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services are nationally mandated in England to provide multidisciplinary care to people experiencing first-episode psychosis, which disproportionately affects deprived and ethnic minority youth. Quality of service provision varies by region, and people from historically underserved populations have unequal access. In other disease areas, including stroke and dementia, national digital registries coupled with clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) have revolutionized the delivery of equitable, evidence-based interventions to transform patient outcomes and reduce population-level disparities in care. Given psychosis is ranked the third most burdensome mental health condition by the World Health Organization, it is essential that we achieve the same parity of health improvements. This paper reports the protocol for the program development phase of this study, in which we aimed to co-design and produce an evidence-based, stakeholder-informed framework for the building, implementation, piloting, and evaluation of a national integrated digital registry and CDSS for psychosis, known as EPICare (Early Psychosis Informatics into Care). We conducted 3 concurrent work packages, with reciprocal knowledge exchange between each. In work package 1, using a participatory co-design framework, key stakeholders (clinicians, academics, policy makers, and patient and public contributors) engaged in 4 workshops to review, refine, and identify a core set of essential and desirable measures and features of the EPICare registry and CDSS. Using a modified Delphi approach, we then developed a consensus of data priorities. In work package 2, we collaborated with National Health Service (NHS) informatics teams to identify relevant data currently captured in electronic health records, understand data retrieval methods, and design the software architecture and data model to inform future implementation. In work package 3, observations of stakeholder workshops and individual interviews with representative stakeholders (n=10) were subject to interpretative qualitative analysis, guided by normalization process theory, to identify factors likely to influence the adoption and implementation of EPICare into routine practice. Stage 1 of the EPICare study took place between December 2021 and September 2022. The next steps include stage 2 building, piloting, implementation, and evaluation of EPICare in 5 demonstrator NHS Trusts serving underserved and diverse populations with substantial need for EIP care in England. If successful, this will be followed by stage 3, in which we will seek NHS adoption of EPICare for rollout to all EIP services in England. By establishing a multistakeholder network and engaging them in an iterative co-design process, we have identified essential and desirable elements of the EPICare registry and CDSS; proactively identified and minimized potential challenges and barriers to uptake and implementation; and addressed key questions related to informatics architecture, infrastructure, governance, and integration in diverse NHS Trusts, enabling us to proceed with the building, piloting, implementation, and evaluation of EPICare. DERR1-10.2196/50177.

Experiences of the clinical academic pathway: a qualitative study in Greater Manchester to improve the opportunities of minoritised clinical academics

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to explore the barriers and facilitators faced by clinical academics (CAs) in the Greater Manchester region, with particular attention to the experiences of minoritised...

What are the key influences and challenges around weight management faced by patients in UK adult secure mental health settings? A focused ethnographic approach

ObjectivesExcess weight is highly prevalent in secure (forensic) mental health services and impacts negatively on patients’ physical and mental health. This study sought to identify the key influences and challenges...

Implementation issues and barriers for assessing oral health in dependent patients after stroke: A qualitative study

ObjectivesTo explore implementation issues and potential barriers for assessing oral health in dependent post-stroke patients. MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposively identified sample of healthcare service providers who work in two National Health Service (NHS) Trusts in the north of England. Interviews were conducted until data saturation was achieved (n = 30). Data were analysed using the constant comparative method. ResultsSix themes were drawn out in this study, which described potential barriers to assessing oral health in post-stroke patients, aspects of oral health that need assessment, streamlining the oral health assessment, input methods for oral health assessment, characteristics of assessors, and how oral care should be planned. ConclusionsAssessment of oral health for post-stroke patients has been viewed as a complex task because of several identified barriers. Several suggestions have been proposed to overcome these barriers, aiming to enable more feasible and effective oral health assessments for post-stroke patients. Clinical SignificanceThe findings from this study have the potential to contribute to developing oral health measurement instruments that might be more successfully implemented and guide oral care planning for dependent patients after stroke.

Efficiency Assessment of Breast Clinics for Patients Under 35: A Comparative Analysis of Targeted Models in a University Hospital.

Despite the higher incidence of breast cancer in older age groups, it remains pertinent not to overlook breast cancer occurrence in those aged 35 years and below. Recent transitions towardtargeted under-35 clinics in Englandaim to enhance efficiency and meet referral standards. Three models were planned, and we assessed the efficiency of each model. This study, conducted for five months within a single National Health Service (NHS) trust, analyzed data from the following clinics: the General One-Stop Clinic, the Under 35 One-Stop Clinic with ultrasound services (USS), and the Under 35 Clinic without USS services. Of the 300 patients recruited (100 consecutive patients from each clinic), 94.3% were female. The average age at presentation was 27.53 years. The most frequently encountered age group was between 26 and 30 years, and the majorityof patients had palpable lumps (78, 51.6%). Out of 300 patients who attended the clinics, 151 had USS, and of these, 15 biopsies were performed. Fibroadenomas (32, 21.2%) and cysts (22, 14.6%) were the most common radiological findings.We found that more breast imaging was being undertaken for under-35 patients who attended the general one-stop clinics compared to the specific under-35 clinics. Targeted breast clinics for individuals 35 years and below offer an effective approach in terms of resource allocation and meeting cancer targets.

Health outcomes after myocardial infarction: A population study of 56 million people in England.

The occurrence of a range of health outcomes following myocardial infarction (MI) is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the long-term risk of major health outcomes following MI and generate sociodemographic stratified risk charts in order to inform care recommendations in the post-MI period and underpin shared decision making. This nationwide cohort study includes all individuals aged ≥18 years admitted to one of 229 National Health Service (NHS) Trusts in England between 1 January 2008 and 31 January 2017 (final follow-up 27 March 2017). We analysed 11 non-fatal health outcomes (subsequent MI and first hospitalisation for heart failure, atrial fibrillation, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, severe bleeding, renal failure, diabetes mellitus, dementia, depression, and cancer) and all-cause mortality. Of the 55,619,430 population of England, 34,116,257 individuals contributing to 145,912,852 hospitalisations were included (mean age 41.7 years (standard deviation [SD 26.1]); n = 14,747,198 (44.2%) male). There were 433,361 individuals with MI (mean age 67.4 years [SD 14.4)]; n = 283,742 (65.5%) male). Following MI, all-cause mortality was the most frequent event (adjusted cumulative incidence at 9 years 37.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] [37.6,37.9]), followed by heart failure (29.6%; 95% CI [29.4,29.7]), renal failure (27.2%; 95% CI [27.0,27.4]), atrial fibrillation (22.3%; 95% CI [22.2,22.5]), severe bleeding (19.0%; 95% CI [18.8,19.1]), diabetes (17.0%; 95% CI [16.9,17.1]), cancer (13.5%; 95% CI [13.3,13.6]), cerebrovascular disease (12.5%; 95% CI [12.4,12.7]), depression (8.9%; 95% CI [8.7,9.0]), dementia (7.8%; 95% CI [7.7,7.9]), subsequent MI (7.1%; 95% CI [7.0,7.2]), and peripheral arterial disease (6.5%; 95% CI [6.4,6.6]). Compared with a risk-set matched population of 2,001,310 individuals, first hospitalisation of all non-fatal health outcomes were increased after MI, except for dementia (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.01; 95% CI [0.99,1.02];p = 0.468) and cancer (aHR 0.56; 95% CI [0.56,0.57];p < 0.001). The study includes data from secondary care only-as such diagnoses made outside of secondary care may have been missed leading to the potential underestimation of the total burden of disease following MI. In this study, up to a third of patients with MI developed heart failure or renal failure, 7% had another MI, and 38% died within 9 years (compared with 35% deaths among matched individuals). The incidence of all health outcomes, except dementia and cancer, was higher than expected during the normal life course without MI following adjustment for age, sex, year, and socioeconomic deprivation. Efforts targeted to prevent or limit the accrual of chronic, multisystem disease states following MI are needed and should be guided by the demographic-specific risk charts derived in this study.

AI assisted reader evaluation in acute CT head interpretation (AI-REACT): protocol for a multireader multicase study

IntroductionA non-contrast CT head scan (NCCTH) is the most common cross-sectional imaging investigation requested in the emergency department. Advances in computer vision have led to development of several artificial intelligence...

Are Clinical Prediction Rules Used in Spinal Cord Injury Care? A Survey of Practice.

Accurate outcome prediction is desirable post spinal cord injury (SCI), reducing uncertainty for patients and supporting personalized treatments. Numerous attempts have been made to create clinical prediction rules that identify patients who are likely to recover function. It is unknown to what extent these rules are routinely used in clinical practice. To better understand knowledge of, and attitudes toward, clinical prediction rules amongst SCI clinicians in the United Kingdom. An online survey was distributed via mailing lists of clinical special interest groups and relevant National Health Service Trusts. Respondents answered questions about their knowledge of existing clinical prediction rules and their general attitudes to using them. They also provided information about their level of experience with SCI patients. One hundred SCI clinicians completed the survey. The majority (71%) were unaware of clinical prediction rules for SCI; only 8% reported using them in clinical practice. Less experienced clinicians were less likely to be aware. Lack of familiarity with prediction rules was reported as being a barrier to their use. The importance of clinical expertise when making prognostic decisions was emphasized. All respondents reported interest in using clinical prediction rules in the future. The results show widespread lack of awareness of clinical prediction rules amongst SCI clinicians in the United Kingdom. However, clinicians were positive about the potential for clinical prediction rules to support decision-making. More focus should be directed toward refining current rules and improving dissemination within the SCI community.

Models of care in secure services for people with intellectual and developmental disability: Implementing the Walkway to Wellness.

Changes to policy around inpatient services for people with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) who offend, have led to a need for services to reconsider their models of care. This has led to calls for more tailored, patient-centred care models, with less reliance solely on offence-related treatment programmes which can be unsuitable for a growing proportion of patients with more complex cognitive and behavioural difficulties. In response, the Walkway to Wellness (W2W) was developed at one National Health Service Trust providing secure services to people with IDD, with the intention of delivering a more collaborative, co-produced and goal-oriented care model that was better understood by staff and patient stakeholders. To evaluate the implementation of the W2W using Normalisation Process Theory (NPT), an evidence-based theoretical approach is used across a number of health settings. Staff were invited to complete a short questionnaire, using the NPT informed Normalisation Measure Development questionnaire, at two time points along the implementation process. Patients were invited to complete a simplified questionnaire. Both groups were asked for their views on the W2W and the process of its implementation. Although the W2W was more familiar to staff at the second time point, scores on the four NPT constructs showed a trend for it being less embedded in practice, with significant results concerning the ongoing appraisal of the new model. Patient views were mixed; some saw the benefit of more goal-oriented processes, but others considered it an additional chore hindering their own perceived goals. Early involvement of all stakeholders is required to enhance the understanding of changes to models of care. Live feedback should be used to refine and revise the model to meet the needs of patients, carers and staff members.

Estimating demand for potential disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease in the UK.

Phase three trials of the monoclonal antibodies lecanemab and donanemab, which target brain amyloid, have reported statistically significant differences in clinical end-points in early Alzheimer's disease. These drugs are already in use in some countries and are going through the regulatory approval process for use in the UK. Concerns have been raised about the ability of healthcare systems, including those in the UK, to deliver these treatments, considering the resources required for their administration and monitoring. To estimate the scale of real-world demand for monoclonal antibodies for Alzheimer's disease in the UK. We used anonymised patient record databases from two National Health Service trusts for the year 2019 to collect clinical, demographic, cognitive and neuroimaging data for these cohorts. Eligibility for treatment was assessed using the inclusion criteria from the clinical trials of donanemab and lecanemab, with consideration given to diagnosis, cognitive performance, cerebrovascular disease and willingness to receive treatment. We examined the records of 82 386 people referred to services covering around 2.2 million people. After applying the trial criteria, we estimate that a maximum of 906 people per year would start treatment with monoclonal antibodies in the two services, equating to 30 200 people if extrapolated nationally. Monoclonal antibody treatments for Alzheimer's disease are likely to present a significant challenge for healthcare services to deliver in terms of the neuroimaging and treatment delivery. The data provided here allows health services to understand the potential demand and plan accordingly.

Retrospective cohort study of the association between socioeconomic deprivation and incidence of gestational diabetes and perinatal outcomes

IntroductionSocioeconomic disparities have been shown to correlate with perinatal mortality and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Few studies have explored the relationship between deprivation and the incidence of gestational diabetes (GDM). We aimed to identify the relationship between deprivation and incidence of GDM, after adjusting for age, BMI, and ethnicity. We also examined for relationships between deprivation and perinatal outcomes.MethodsA retrospective cohort analysis of 23,490 pregnancies from a major National Health Service Trust in Northwest London was conducted. The 2019 English Indices of Multiple Deprivation was used to identify the deprivation rank and decile for each postcode. Birthweight centile was calculated from absolute birthweight after adjusting for ethnicity, maternal height, maternal weight, parity, sex and outcome (live birth/stillbirth). Logistic regression and Kendall’s Tau were used to identify relationships between variables.ResultsAfter controlling for age, BMI & ethnicity, Index of Multiple Deprivation postcode decile was not associated with an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes. Each increase in decile of deprivation was associated with an increase in birthweight centile by 0.471 (p < 0.001). After adjusting for confounders, age was associated with a 7.1% increased GDM risk (OR: 1.076, p < 0.001); BMI increased risk by 5.81% (OR: 1.059, p < 0.001). There was no significant correlation between Index of Multiple Deprivation rank and perinatal outcomes.DiscussionOur analysis demonstrates that socioeconomic deprivation was not associated with incidence of GDM or adverse perinatal outcomes. Factors such as genetic predisposition and lifestyle habits may likely play a larger role in the development of GDM compared to socioeconomic deprivation alone.

“Quite simply they don’t communicate”: a case study of a National Health Service response to staff suicide

Workplace suicide can have significant knock-on effects within an organisation, yet research has shown within the healthcare profession, not all staff receive suicide prevention training, and few employers take the...