Summary of the study

Our research will address the area of patient safety within Ambulance Services (AS). The evidence base for patient safety in AS is lagging behind other healthcare sectors and there is no systematic review of the evidence to direct policy, service delivery and future research. It is of concern that the AS report fewer incidents than other healthcare sectors and the reason for this remains unclear.

Methods:

1. Ascertain the current evidence base on patient safety in AS by performing a systematic review of the current literature;

2. Assess the current landscape of AS safety culture and processes by examining the quality and effectiveness policies, annual reports, and performance against national quality indicators to identify, characterise, and compare evidence of a leadership culture, awareness of human factors, organisation and environment to promote quality and patient safety;

3. We will use results of the literature review and survey to inform the design of questions for semi-structured interviews of a representative sample of AS stakeholders, including service user representatives, to identify sources of information of patient safety not already found in other work packages, and to identify the areas of AS patient safety that interviewees believe are important;

4. Assess the significant gaps in the evidence base where research might add value, either through addressing new questions or replicating international research in an NHS setting, by triangulating the results of all work packages;

5. Assess the priorities for future policy and research by presenting results to serving AS practitioners, policy and education specialists and using their votes to prioritise areas for future research, and best use of available knowledge in policy and practice.

Link to NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research Programme details for this project may be found here

The expected date of conclusion of the study is 31st August 2012

Key personnel:

Principal Investigator Professor Matthew Cooke

Research team Professor Aileen Clarke, Dr Joanne Fisher, Karoline Freeman, Dr Rose Jarvis, Professor Gavin Perkins, Mike Smyth, Professor Peter Spurgeon, Dr Mark Sujan