GP Management After Transition Events (GP-MATE)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
GP Management After Transition Events (GP-MATE) - Developing an intervention to assist older patients’ communication with their GP practice after discharge from hospital in order to improve patient safety
IRAS ID
298553
Contact name
Rachel A Spencer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Warwick
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Aim: To make and test an approach (‘GP-MATE’) to assist older patients and their carers to discuss with their GP practice their care after coming home from hospital. This is to make care safer and prevent mistakes from occurring.
Background: Being discharged from hospital carries risks especially for older people. Over 5 million patients aged 75 or older come home from English hospitals each year. For each patient a letter is sent from the hospital to their GP. There are problems with how many of these letters are managed, and one in thirteen older patients are harmed as a result. Older patients and their carers have a key role to play in preventing these errors and harms and GP-MATE will be designed to help them.
Design and Methods used: This 4-year study will use co-production to make and test GP-MATE.Year 1 – We will create a film of patients’ experiences following hospital discharge to inform our co-production.
Year 2 - Three groups of older patients and GP staff across the country will meet repeatedly to create GP-MATE.
Year 3 - We will study the use of GP-MATE at eight general practices. We will talk to 24 patients and their carers and 24 staff to gather their views. Everyone who uses GP-MATE will be sent a survey, and we will look at the records of around 300 patients for evidence of its impact.
Year 4 - We will draw on our findings to perfect GP-MATE’s design to make it ready for national use and future research.
Patient and Public Involvement: This study is led by patients and carers who will be involved at all stages of the study through a PPI-E panel. Two patient events have explored the importance of this topic and informed the research design.REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EE/0227
Date of REC Opinion
5 Jan 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion