Admission and discharge care bundles for COPD

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  An evaluation of the effectiveness of ‘care bundles’ as a means of improving hospital care and reducing hospital readmission for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

• IRAS ID

  139114

• Contact name

  Sarah Purdy

• Contact email

  Sarah.Purdy@Bristol.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Bristol

• Research summary

  Avoiding unnecessary use of hospital services is one of the biggest challenges currently facing the NHS. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common respiratory diseases in the United Kingdom and accounts for 10% of hospital admissions each year. Nearly a third of these patients are readmitted to hospital within 28 days of discharge.

  COPD care bundles could play a key role in resolving the issue of unplanned admissions. Care bundles are a way of ensuring that staff provide a coordinated package of care to patients with COPD when they arrive at and are sent home from hospital.

  This study will include a group of up to 20 hospitals in England and Wales who have already agreed to implement the COPD care bundles, and up to 20 “comparator” hospitals who will not be delivering them. By comparing how many patients are readmitted to each type of hospital over a two year period, and what happens to patients during their stay, we will be able to assess how successful COPD care bundles are. More specifically, we will look at:
  • Numbers of patients admitted with COPD
  • Number of deaths of COPD patients while in hospital
  • Number of days spent in hospital by patients with COPD
  • Proportion of patients with COPD who are readmitted
  • Number of COPD patients seen and discharged from A&E
  • Levels of satisfaction in patients with COPD
  • How patients with COPD are managed in hospital
  • How much it costs to care for a patient with COPD in hospital and after discharge

  Most of the information needed for this study is routinely collected by hospitals in the course of their own management activity. Further detailed information will be collected using qualitative research methods involving healthcare professionals, patients and carers.

• REC name

  South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/SW/1057

• Date of REC Opinion

  12 Sep 2014

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion