VIGIL - Video In Geriatric Intervention cLinic
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A randomised controlled feasibility trial protocol comparing face-to-face and video delivery of a specialist preoperative clinic for older people
IRAS ID
310265
Contact name
Philip Braude
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
North Bristol Trust
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN95833238
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 1 days
Research summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to millions of operations being delayed globally. However, some urgent operations are still needed.
Older people being considered for an aortic aneurysm operation at North Bristol Trust (NBT) are reviewed by a geriatrician (medical specialist in older people’s health) in clinic. The clinic aims to improve health before surgery and support the patient’s decision making. Few hospitals offer this service.
We wanted to lower the risk of hospital acquired COVID for this vulnerable patient group, and changed from a face-to-face clinic to a video clinic. The service received excellent feedback from patients and doctors in a study. However, we did not look at the effect on recovery after surgery.
We intend to collect information before and after aortic aneurysm surgery about complications and recovery. We will compare patients that had a geriatrician video appointment against face-to-face appointment. The point of this study is to find out if a large study could work. We want to get the process of running a trial right, and check whether patients are able and wish to take part. This smaller study will not show if video or face-to-face appointments are better than one another, but will help us to sort out the complicated process of running a large trial in the future. This study will be funded by a grant from the Bristol Health Research Charity and will recruit at Southmead Hospital in Bristol between January 2022 and June 2022.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0035
Date of REC Opinion
28 Feb 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion