A qualitative formative evaluation of a patient‐centred patient safety intervention delivered in collaboration with hospital volunteers

Abstract

BackgroundEvidence suggests that patients can meaningfully feed back to healthcare providers about the safety of their care. The PRASE (Patient Reporting and Action for a Safe Environment) intervention provides a way to systematically collect feedback from patients to support service improvement. The intervention is being implemented in acute care settings with patient feedback collected by hospital volunteers for the first time.ObjectiveTo undertake a formative evaluation which explores the feasibility and acceptability of the PRASE intervention delivered in collaboration with hospital volunteers from the perspectives of key stakeholders.DesignA qualitative evaluation design was adopted across two acute NHS trusts in the UK between July 2014 and November 2015. We conducted five focus groups with hospital volunteers (n=15), voluntary services and patient experience staff (n=3) and semi‐structured interviews with ward staff (n=5). Data were interpreted using framework analysis.ResultsAll stakeholders were positive about the PRASE intervention as a way to support service improvement, and the benefits of involving volunteers. Volunteers felt adequate training and support would be essential for retention. Staff concentrated on the infrastructure needed for implementation and raised concerns around sustainability. Findings were fed back to the implementation team to support revisions to the intervention moving into the subsequent summative evaluation phase.ConclusionAlthough there are concerns regarding sustainability in practice, the PRASE intervention delivered in collaboration with hospital volunteers is a promising approach to collect patient feedback for service improvement.

“Change is what can actually make the tough times better”: A patient‐centred patient safety intervention delivered in collaboration with hospital volunteers

“…The findings relating to the infrastructure, training and support mechanisms required for the implementation of PRASE with hospital volunteers were consistent with the wider literature on the importance of understanding volunteers’ motivations and meeting their expectations for retention ,. Many of these findings reinforced the key themes from the formative evaluation, and therefore, the discussion reflects more so on novel insights.…”

“…Involving the volunteers in the APMs came about coincidentally and was one of the recommendations arising from the formative evaluation phase . This additional layer of involvement seemed to serve as a means of closing the loop from the volunteer perspective.…”

“…A full description of patient involvement in the design and conduct for the wider project has been published previously . The research aim initially arose from discussions about the sustainability of the PRASE intervention with patients and healthcare professionals.…”

“…In order to generate a means of assessing implementation fidelity, the key PRASE ward activities were predefined by the implementation team (see Figure ). These activities were based on a version of the PRASE intervention programme theory agreed by the wider project team at the end of the pilot phase . Focus groups with hospital volunteers and semi‐structured interviews with voluntary services/patient experience staff were conducted at two time points and focussed on the participants’ experiences of their involvement in PRASE and their views on implementation, with specific questions varying for each participant group.…”

“…A two‐stage evaluation ran alongside implementation. The results of the formative evaluation which explored the perceptions of key stakeholders throughout the pilot phase have been published previously . A summative evaluation followed, which coincided with the PRASE intervention being scaled up and spread across additional wards.…”