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EURIPIDES

Sunlight in a wood

EURIPIDES is the short title for Evaluating the Use of Patient Experience Data to Improve the Quality of Inpatient Mental Health Care study.

What is the study about?

EURIPIDES aimed to understand which of the many different approaches to collecting and using patient experience data are the most useful for supporting improvements in inpatient mental health care.

Who is involved in this study?

This project was a collaboration between the University of Warwick, the University of Sheffield, the University of Birmingham, Queen Mary University London and the Mental Health Foundation. The project was supported by CRN West Midlands, and was overseen by a Project Oversight Group and an Independent Study Steering Group.

What will we be doing?

The project examined how patient experience and feedback is managed in inpatient mental health care settings. To ensure the patient voice is heard, NHS Trusts are required to collect feedback from patients routinely. We do not know what kinds of feedback are most important or what management processes are needed to translate this into effective action plans, and we do not know if this makes any difference to patients themselves.

In order to explore this area, the proposed research had 5 work packages that are linked to the 5 study aims:

After completing a systematic review to identify patient experience themes relevant to mental health care (Aim 1), we will identify, describe and classify approaches to collecting and using patient experience data to improve inpatient mental health services across England (Aim 2).

We will use this information to choose 6 Trusts around the country for in-depth case studies where we will carry out interviews to find out what works for whom, and where (Aim 3). We will look particularly for evidence of meaningful service user and carer involvement, and for service improvement activity. We will present our findings to experts (including service users and carers) at a ‘consensus conference’ to agree on recommendations about best practice (Aim 4). We will ensure that our results are anchored in what is acceptable, feasible and sustainable in real-world NHS settings.

Finally, we will use health economics to predict the costs that would arise (and savings that might occur) if ‘best practice’ in collecting and using patient experience data was widely adopted, and we will speak to senior NHS colleagues to explore obstacles to adopting best practice (Aim 5).

The Work Packages are shown in a diagram below to show how the research activities fit together.

diagram.png

What are the key findings from the research?

This study is now complete. Our final report is due to be published in 2020 and can be found in the National Institute of Health Research Library. You can register with the library to be notified automatically when it is released. To give feedback to NHS Trusts in a timely manner, we have also produced a policy briefing being hosted by the University of Birmingham and the University of Sheffield. A summary of our key findings can be found in this video.

Why does this research matter? How will it make a difference?

Every Trust collects patient feedback data, and in some cases they have spent years setting up local systems for this. We aimed to learn what works best from the wide range of current approaches. Our results provide the first comprehensive overview of current approaches to collecting and using patient experience data to improve inpatient mental health care in England.

The research, and our recommendations, are grounded in the real world NHS. We have reviewed the study findings and agreed recommendations based on what is judged feasible, acceptable and sustainable according to commissioners, service providers and service users and carers. We hope that this research will inform the future collection, management and use of mental health inpatient experience data and thereby improve services.

Funding for this study

The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research’s Health Services and Delivery Research Programme (NIHR HS&DR).

Key information

Chief Investigator
Professor Scott Weich
Email Scott

Internal co-investigators

External co-investigators

Contact
For more information please contact one of the research team above.

Consensus Conference

Funder

NIHR

The Evaluating the Use of Patient Experience Data to Improve the Quality of Inpatient Mental Health Care study is funded by the National Institute for Health Research's Health Services and Delivery Research Programme.

Dates/duration of study
January 2016 - July 2018