BMJ Open

Older adults who have undergone treatment as hospital inpatients and are now medically fit for discharge back into the community may require additional care to support that transition. Prolonged hospital admissions can also have risks including functional decline, dependency and the risk of hospital acquired infections. The aim of this rapid review was to review the research evidence for the effectiveness of workforce models in the community that may be able to rapidly grow capacity for communi...

IntroductionOne in five pregnant women have multiple long-term conditions in the United Kingdom (UK). Studies have shown that maternal multiple long-term conditions are associated with adverse outcomes. This observational study aims to compare maternal and childrens outcome for pregnant women with multiple long-term to those without multiple long-term conditions. Methods and analysisPregnant women aged 15 to 49 years old with a conception date between 2000 and 2019 in the UK will be included. T...

The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is a cornerstone of infection prevention and control guidelines and was of increased importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adherence with prescribed guidelines for the use of PPE and their applicability to the working practices of staff in general practitioner (GP) and ambulance settings have been a growing concern. The aim of this rapid review was to assess the barriers, facilitators, and potential adverse outcomes of the use of PPE in these spe...

IntroductionNurse researchers often lack awareness of how to start a clinical academic research career and often lack clear entry routes. This scoping review aims to identify the range and nature of clinical academic opportunities that are available for nurses. This will identify knowledge gaps and provide the basis for future research. Methods and analysisThe review will be conducted using scoping review methodology and reported in accordance with PRISMA-SCR guidelines. We will search CINAHL (...

AbstractThe National Health Service (NHS) is experiencing an acute workforce shortage in every discipline, at a time when waiting times are at a record high and there is a growing backlog resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This Rapid Review aimed to explore the effectiveness of interventions or innovations relevant to the Welsh NHS context to support recruitment and retention of clinical staff. The review is based on the findings of existing reviews supplemented by a more in-depth evaluation ...

ObjectivesTo explore the experience of accessing Long COVID community rehabilitation from the perspectives of people with Long COVID and General Practitioners (GPs). DesignQualitative descriptive study employing one-to-one semi-structured virtual interviews analysed using the framework method. SettingFour NHS Scotland territorial health boards. ParticipantsEleven people with Long COVID (1 male, 10 female; aged 40-65 [mean 53], and 13 GPs (5 male, 8 female). ResultsFour key themes were identi...

IntroductionGovernments create policies to address societal needs and then assess their effectiveness through policy metrics. The UK Rare Diseases Framework and its England Rare Diseases Action Plans aim to improve the lives of people with lived experience of rare diseases and their carers. Reaching these goals requires more effective engagement with those least likely to interact with NHS services. This paper outlines a protocol to identify relevant high-level policy metrics while engaging unde...

IntroductionLong COVID, a new condition whose origins and natural history are not yet fully established, currently affects 1.5 million people in the UK. Most do not have access to specialist long COVID services. We seek to optimise long COVID care both within and outside specialist clinics, including improving access, reducing inequalities, helping patients manage their symptoms effectively at home, and providing guidance and decision support for primary care. We aim to establish a gold standar...

IntroductionHorizon-scanning identifies weak signals of innovation to anticipate future developments, providing strategic value for healthcare decision-making. Unlike evidence synthesis, it addresses emerging and uncertain areas but lacks standardised reporting, limiting transparency, consistency, and impact. Inconsistent terminology and poorly described methods hinder comparability and uptake. This study aimed to develop a prototype reporting checklist and glossary to support structured, transp...

IntroductionEthnicity information is recorded routinely in electronic health records (EHRs); however, to date, there is no national standard or framework for harmonisation of the existing records. Methods and analysisThe national ethnicity-spine uses anonymised individual-level population-scale ethnicity data from 26 EHR available through the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank. A total of 46 million ethnicity records for 4,297,694 individuals in Wales-UK over 22 years (betwee...

IntroductionThis is the study protocol of an ongoing prospective randomised controlled trial (RCT) written as per the SPIRIT guidelines. This RCT is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of early enteral nutrition after elective enterostomy closure in paediatric patients. Methods and analysisThis is a multicentre, RCT that will be conducted in two Australian tertiary paediatric hospitals with a planned sample size of 68. Children that meet the inclusion criteria aged between three months a...

National Health Service (NHS) waiting times have significantly increased over the past couple of years, particularly since the emergence of COVID-19. The NHS is currently experiencing an acute workforce shortage, which hampers the ability to deal with increasing waiting times and clearing the backlog resulting from the pandemic. Plans to increase the workforce, by recruiting new staff, retaining the existing NHS clinical workforce, and making return to clinical practice more attractive will requ...

The Making Every Contact Count MECC programme encourages staff to have opportunistic brief behaviour change conversations with service users. It uses the day-to-day interactions that healthcare professionals, or those within other organisations, including the not-for-profit sector have with people, to support them in making positive changes to their physical and mental health, and wellbeing. The aim of this review is to assess which elements or types of MECC training, or comparable interventions...

In order to inform clinical and research practice in secondary care in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, an online survey was used to collect public opinions on attending hospitals. The survey link was circulated via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Involvement (PPI) Leads network and social media. 402 people completed the survey. Participants age ranged from the 18-85+, with the majority (337 (84%)) aged between 35 to 74 years. There were a higher number of women (77%) com...

The UKs National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Preterm labour and birth guideline recommends use of magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) in deliveries below 30 weeks gestation to prevent cerebral palsy and other neurological problems associated with preterm delivery. Despite national guidance, the uptake of MgSO4 administration in eligible women has been slow. NHS England has rolled out the PReCePT Quality Improvement (QI) toolkit to increase uptake of MgSO4 in preterm deliveries. The to...

Continuing National Health Service Health Care (CHC) is a package of care for adults with significant primary health care needs who live in England or Wales. Currently, direct payments are not available for individuals receiving CHC in Wales. In contrast, in England, individuals in receipt of CHC can access direct payments as part of a broader system of Personal Health Budgets (PHBs), which offer choice and control over how their care is delivered. The Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025 inc...

ObjectivesTo examine whether the use of process mapping and a multidisciplinary Delphi can identify potential contributors to perioperative risk. We hypothesised that this approach may identify factors not represented in common perioperative risk tools and give insights of use to future research in this area. DesignMultidisciplinary modified Delphi study SettingTwo centres (one tertiary, one secondary) in the United Kingdom during 2020 amidst coronavirus pressures. Participants91 stakeholders...

BACKGROUNDMultimorbid patients have worse outcomes following acute hospitalisation. These include increased mortality as an in-patient and after hospital discharge, and increased morbidity and dependence requiring greater use of care facilities. The literature is unclear on the views and wishes of multimorbid patients regarding the outcomes of acute hospitalisation, specifically regarding survival with additional functional disability following acute illness. This is increasingly relevant, with ...

IntroductionCervical screening rates in the UK are falling, limiting our ability to prevent cervical cancer. Peak incidence of cervical cancer coincides with average age of childbirth and women with young children are less likely to be screened. Current guidelines advise waiting 12-weeks after delivery to perform cervical screening, but this recommendation is not based on evidence from the era of liquid-based cytology (LBC) or high-risk Human Papilloma Virus (hrHPV) testing. New mums suggested t...

The COVID-19 morbidities model has been widely used since 2020 to support Test and Trace and assess the cost-effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. The current iteration of the Long COVID model covers several morbidities associated with COVID-19, which are essential to plan for elective care in the future and identify which services to prioritise. However, there are uncertainties in the model around the long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) impact of COVID-19, which is p...