SAFER-MH Feasibility Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Feasibility study of the SAFER-MH Care Bundle in adult inpatient services
IRAS ID
313981
Contact name
Natasha Tyler
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 31 days
Research summary
Service users with mental health problems often have concerns about safety when they move between healthcare services (for example when they are discharged from the hospital). Many service users and health professionals describe this period as chaotic; which might cause mistakes, accidents, or failures to happen. My past research with these groups showed that their safety concerns when discharged from the hospital are often more social in nature than medical (i.e. housing/loneliness, as opposed to medication issues). Improving practice during this critical time could save lots of lives, as unfortunately self-harm and suicide are common after discharge from mental health services. About one in five deaths by suicide are by recently discharged service users from mental health hospitals. Covid-19 has led to rushed discharges from mental health hospitals which made service users feel less safe. For this reason, we need more than ever to find ways to make service users feel safe during discharge and have smoother transitions.
This research is to test the feasibility and acceptability of a care bundle we have designed with patients, carers, and healthcare professionals. The bundle is based on best-practice guidelines from NHS Improvement but adapted for a mental health setting and the changes involve the introduction of new ways of working, primarily in the form of creating and sharing high-quality documentation. The new documents are designed to promote involvement in decision making and information sharing; which patients said were key in our interviews. We will test the care bundle for 6 weeks in three trusts in England and use a series of questionnaires and other measures to see how people found it, we will also collect the same data about standard care and conduct interviews with discharged patients, their carers, and professionals to understand how they found the intervention.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0404
Date of REC Opinion
9 Aug 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion