EURIPIDES

Aims of the study

EURIPIDES (Evaluating the Use of Patient Experience Data to Improve the Quality of Inpatient Mental Health Care study) aimed to understand which of the many different approaches to collecting and using patient experience data are the most useful for supporting improvements in inpatient mental health care.

This project was a collaboration between the University of Warwick, the University of Sheffield, the University of Birmingham, Queen Mary University London and the Mental Health Foundation. It was supported by CRN West Midlands and overseen by a Project Oversight Group and an Independent Study Steering Group.

Patient experience and feedback

The project examined how patient experience and feedback is managed in inpatient mental health care settings. To ensure the patient voice is heard, NHS Trusts are required to collect feedback from patients routinely. We do not know what kinds of feedback are most important or what management processes are needed to translate this into effective action plans, and we do not know if this makes any difference to patients themselves.

To explore this area, the proposed research had five work packages that are linked to the five study aims:

After completing a systematic review to identify patient experience themes relevant to mental health care (Aim 1), we will identify, describe and classify approaches to collecting and using patient experience data to improve inpatient mental health services across England (Aim 2).

We will use this information to choose 6 Trusts around the country for in-depth case studies where we will carry out interviews to find out what works for whom, and where (Aim 3). We will look particularly for evidence of meaningful service user and carer involvement, and for service improvement activity. We will present our findings to experts (including service users and carers) at a ‘consensus conference’ to agree on recommendations about best practice (Aim 4). We will ensure that our results are anchored in what is acceptable, feasible and sustainable in real-world NHS settings.

Finally, we will use health economics to predict the costs that would arise (and savings that might occur) if ‘best practice’ in collecting and using patient experience data was widely adopted. We will speak to senior NHS colleagues to explore obstacles to adopting best practice.

The final report

This study is now complete. Our final report was published in 2020 and can be found in the National Institute of Health Research Library. To give feedback to NHS Trusts in a timely manner, we also produced a policy briefing, hosted by the University of Birmingham and the University of Sheffield. A summary of our key findings can be found in this video.

Every Trust collects patient feedback data, and in some cases, they have spent years setting up local systems for this. We aimed to learn what works best from the wide range of current approaches. Our results provide the first comprehensive overview of current approaches to collecting and using patient experience data to improve inpatient mental health care in England.

The research, and our recommendations, are grounded in the real-world NHS. We have reviewed the study findings and agreed recommendations based on what is judged feasible, acceptable and sustainable according to commissioners, service providers and service users and carers. We hope that this research will inform the future collection, management and use of mental health inpatient experience data and thereby improve services.

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/hscience/mhwellbeing/euripides/