Development of Best Practice Guidelines for Regional Hospital Passport
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of Best Practice Guidelines for the implementation of the Regional HSC Hospital Passport for people with learning disabilities
IRAS ID
272790
Contact name
Lynne Marsh
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
The ‘Guidance on Caring for People with a Learning Disability in General Hospital Settings’ (GAIN, 2010) identified the need to improve the hospital experience for people with a learning disability and recommended the use of hospital passports. A review of the GAIN Guidelines (RQIA, 2014) recommended that a Regional Hospital Passport for Northern Ireland should be developed and routinely used by people with learning disabilities when they are in contact with general hospitals.
The purpose of the hospital passport is to provide important information about the person with a learning disability that will help all staff make reasonable adjustments in order to support safe and effective care whilst also improving experience of care and treatment.
The Regional HSC (health and social care) Hospital Passport was launched by the Public Health Agency in May 2017. Following an evaluation of the Passport by Millman and Gamble (2018), funding is now available until May 2020 to carry out this study.
The purpose of this study is to review the usefulness and use of the Regional HSC Hospital Passport across Northern Ireland and also find out and deal with any issues which may help or hinder the wider introduction and use of this Passport. Best practice guidelines will be developed to serve as a general framework to enable healthcare professionals to use this Passport more effectively.
The study will involve people with learning disabilities, families/carers and healthcare professionals from across the five HSC Trusts in Northern Ireland. Screening questions will be asked to find out if interested people have used the Regional HSC Hospital Passport. Eligible participants will be given information on the study and a consent form; invited to talk about their experiences of using this Passport in a 1:1 interview; and invited to participate in a focus group.
Lay Summary of Results
Key findings from the Phase Two evaluation were that many healthcare professionals across Northern Ireland welcomed the Regional Hospital Passport. Healthcare professionals reported that the Regional Hospital Passport provided details that were unknown and time consuming to obtain, thereby aiding the sharing and storage of information among the range of healthcare professionals involved in the provision of care.
There were clear benefits of the Regional Hospital Passport when used in clinical practice supporting healthcare staff to make the reasonable adjustments the person with learning disabilities needed enhancing person-centred care. Healthcare professionals reported that the Regional Hospital Passport improved their communication skills, thereby improving the person with learning disabilities care journey through the healthcare setting.
We found that the Regional Hospital Passport was being used in a variety of healthcare settings, not solely in hospitals, including primary health care settings. The Regional Hospital Passport was reported by the adults with learning disabilities and families to increase their confidence that care and support needs would be met when accessing healthcare services.
Has the registry been updated to include summary results?: No
If yes - please enter the URL to summary results:
If no – why not?: NA
Did you follow your dissemination plan submitted in the IRAS application form (Q A51)?: Yes
If yes, describe or provide URLs to disseminated materials: McCormick, F., Marsh, L., Taggart, L. and Brown, M., 2024. Using a hospital passport from the perspective of adults with intellectual disabilities, family carers and health professionals: A qualitative study. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 28(1), pp.170-184. https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclick.pstmrk.it%2F3ts%2Fdoi.org%252F10.1177%252F17446295221145996%2FNBTI%2FRtq4AQ%2FAQ%2Fb06e49fe-d6bc-4920-a0f5-726ba363c49f%2F1%2Fd1tGG62j9K&data=05%7C02%7Csurreyborders.rec%40hra.nhs.uk%7Cb8e9e848696446e28bec08dcf2b7cc22%7C8e1f0acad87d4f20939e36243d574267%7C0%7C0%7C638652118414797563%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=atuo2ZUOnknsKFHWqXdE8aQTgFbvnl%2F37uKyUwJ4AtI%3D&reserved=0Marsh, L., McCormick, F., Taggart, L. and Brown, M. 2024. Experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities, family carers and health professionals of using a Regional Hospital Passport to navigate the hospital journey successfully. 17th IASSIDD World Congress 05/08/2024 → 08/08/2024, Chicago, Illinois, United States https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclick.pstmrk.it%2F3ts%2Fiassidd2024.org%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2024%252F08%252F2024-PDF-Program-FINAL.pdf%2FNBTI%2FRtq4AQ%2FAQ%2Fb06e49fe-d6bc-4920-a0f5-726ba363c49f%2F2%2Fi_E0e4vVl9&data=05%7C02%7Csurreyborders.rec%40hra.nhs.uk%7Cb8e9e848696446e28bec08dcf2b7cc22%7C8e1f0acad87d4f20939e36243d574267%7C0%7C0%7C638652118414822883%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=DlymORO05W9RDbCO1naHVOGcROW%2BW5LOM%2F5kz4tAvME%3D&reserved=0
Marsh, L., McCormick, F., Taggart, L. and Brown, M. 2023. Experiences of using a Regional Hospital Passport from the perspective of adults with intellectual disabilities, family carers and health professionals: a qualitative study. Trinity Health and Education International Research Conference 2023, Dublin, Ireland.
McCormick, F., Marsh, L., Taggart, L. and Brown, M., 2021. Experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities accessing acute hospital services: A systematic review of the international evidence. Health & social care in the community, 29(5), pp.1222-1232. https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclick.pstmrk.it%2F3ts%2Fdoi.org%252F10.1111%252Fhsc.13253%2FNBTI%2FRtq4AQ%2FAQ%2Fb06e49fe-d6bc-4920-a0f5-726ba363c49f%2F3%2FaHx9CtI1eX&data=05%7C02%7Csurreyborders.rec%40hra.nhs.uk%7Cb8e9e848696446e28bec08dcf2b7cc22%7C8e1f0acad87d4f20939e36243d574267%7C0%7C0%7C638652118414837535%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=fr42X5s215hKf%2BdtpBnBGFLVd36UcJW7rY0lhxgKZbs%3D&reserved=0
If pending, date when dissemination is expected:
If no, explain why you didn't follow it:
Have participants been informed of the results of the study?: No
If yes, describe and/or provide URLs to materials shared and how they were shared:
If pending, date when feedback is expected:
If no, explain why they haven't: NA
Have you enabled sharing of study data with others?: No
If yes, describe or provide URLs to how it has been shared:
If no, explain why sharing hasn't been enabled: NA
Have you enabled sharing of tissue samples and associated data with others?: NoREC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1834
Date of REC Opinion
25 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion