Why is this research needed?
Some A&E patients can have safe care and better outcomes if they are not admitted to hospital. Avoiding admission can also lead to better experiences, fewer complications, and reduced costs for the NHS. Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) services were developed by the NHS to provide safe care for patients without an overnight stay. These services are supposed to provide rapid assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.
But, there are a lot of differences in how these services have been setup and run across the country. We also do not know what effect these services are having on patients, hospital admissions, or A&E performance. Our project intends to understand what effect Same Day Emergency Care services are having on patients care and hospitals, nationally.
What we will do
Our first work-package sets the foundation for the rest of our work. It will provide a clear definition of what SDEC services are in practice, and a taxonomy of the ways that SDEC services are setup and delivered in NHS England.
Our second work-package involves the first set of analyses of healthcare data. It will provide the first national evaluation of SDEC services in NHS England.
Our third work-package involves both database and face-to-face studies of SDEC services. It will provide a closer look at a handful of hospitals who provide SDEC services. These “case studies” are an opportunity to study the varied impacts that the SDEC initiative has had in different hospitals.
Getting the word out
Our results will be produced in different formats, including scientific papers, short reports, social media posts, cartoons, visual presentations. We regularly consult patient and public representatives, policy makers, and relevant medical colleges / societies to make sure we target findings to have the most impact.
Stay informed at https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/sdec/home