Edinburgh Napier University

  Psychiatric emergencies, and episodes of self-harm, accounted for over 30,000 Scottish ambulance call-outs in 2011. The overwhelming majority of these people were taken directly to Emergency Departments (ED). There is mounting evidence and substantial concern that many of these people do not currently receive the most appropriate management and are at increased risk of suicide and repeat ED attendance. Evidence from other ambulance care pathways suggests that it is likely that mortality and morbidity levels for this patient group could be improved, and the service burden to ED reduced. Therefore, this study will analyse routinely available data from the Unscheduled Care Datamart to inform the development of an improved care pathway(s) intervention. Stakeholder evaluation of the utility of linked data analysis in the development of an improved care pathway(s) intervention will enhance understanding of the value of linked data analysis in improving the health of the Scottish population.
This collaborative CSO project is led by University of Stirling (HICG/1/27, total project value £30,000)