A grounded theory of forensic service users' recall to hospital - v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Making sense of recall to hospital from conditional community discharge: A grounded theory study based on the accounts of forensic service users.
IRAS ID
206237
Contact name
Owen Rye
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research and Development Department, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 16 days
Research summary
People who are mentally unwell and have committed a criminal offence are cared for by forensic mental health services. Their treatment is provided in secure hospitals so that any risks to the public are minimised. Two-thirds of forensic service users (FSUs) will spend at least two years in hospital. When their mental health has improved and they are judged to pose a low risk of reoffending, they can be discharged. In nearly 90% of cases, discharge to the community is subject to conditions including ongoing monitoring. If the conditionally discharged person’s mental health and level of risk remains stable then they will be fully discharged. However, if they become unwell again or show other signs that their risk of reoffending has increased, then they are likely to be recalled back to a secure hospital for further treatment. In 2015, approximately half of the FSUs who were conditionally discharged were then recalled to hospital. This is very expensive for services, and means that FSUs get caught in a cycle of institutionalisation. To date, there has been very limited research on this group of people, and no study has proposed a clear explanation of what leads FSUs to be recalled. Developing an understanding of this process could help to improve service delivery so that fewer FSUs need to be recalled. This study aims to develop a theory of what leads FSUs to be recalled. The theory will be based on the perspectives of FSUs who have themselves been recalled. Those who choose to participate in the research will be interviewed once by the researcher for up to ninety minutes. The researcher will conduct and analyse the interviews using a method of qualitative research called grounded theory. FSUs will be recruited from forensic mental health services in Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.
REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SC/0570
Date of REC Opinion
29 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion