Extract

Background and study aims The Francis report focussed attention on the quality of inpatient care. Staff report that they feel under-skilled and have too little time to provide therapeutic activities, and service users report that wards were boring places and provided little therapy. The aim of this study is to find out whether the quality of inpatient care can be improved by providing staff training. Who can participate? Adult inpatients from relevant boroughs (Southwark, Lambeth, Croydon, Lewisham) during a fixed time period What does the study involve? Participating wards are randomly allocated to either receive increased skills training to increase group activities, or to be put on a waiting list. Staff and inpatients' perceptions of the ward are measured using questionnaires. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? Not provided at time of registration Where is the study run from? 1. South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust NHS Foundation Trust (UK) 2. Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust (UK) When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? April 2008 to March 2012 Who is funding the study? National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (UK) Who is the main contact? Prof. Til Wykes

Inclusion criteria

• Topic: Mental Health Research Network, Generic Health Relevance and Cross Cutting Themes; Subtopic: Generic Health Relevance (all Subtopics), Service Delivery; Disease: Not Applicable

Links

• isrctn
• ictrp