Trial of a Medical and Mental Health Unit for Older People

The objectives of this study are:

• To evaluate whether a specialist multidisciplinary MMHU for older people with 'confusion', admitted to a general hospital as an emergency, is associated with better outcomes than standard care.
• To study the quality of care on the MMHU compared with standard care
• To perform a health economic analysis, from the perspective of health and social care.

The principal hypotheses being tested are:

• That care on the MMHU is associated with more days spent at home (in the 3 months after recruitment) than care on standard wards
• That care on the MMHU is associated with better health status measured at 3 months, in terms of quality of life, behavioural disturbance, cognitive function, disability, participation, mortality and care home residence.
• That care on the MMHU is associated with better psychological well being amongst carers and reduced carer strain compared with standard care.
• That the quality of care and patient experience for patients on the MMHU is superior to that on standard care wards.
• That care on the MMHU is cost-effective compared with that on standard care wards.

The setting for the study is a large NHS acute teaching hospital organisation with 2 campuses (Queens Medical Centre and City Hospital), comprising 1800 beds, serving a population of 700 000 for general hospital services.

Sample size is determined by available resources. 240 patients randomised to the MMHU unit over 24 months, and an equal number of controls, should be sufficient to measure, with 80% power, a 3 to 6-day reduction in length of stay, and 15% increase in the proportion of participants discharged home (e.g. 50% to 65%). Power will be greater for scaled outcomes, and the 'days at home' outcome.

The main study will run for up to 24 months from July 2010. Follow up will be 3 months after randomisation.

Prior to trial commencement we will run 1 or 2 short pilot studies, during which we will test the recruitment and ward allocation processes.

The study is designed to be robust, despite being constrained by the operational needs of the clinical service, and both service and research capacity.

The NHS Trust clinical service has agreed that, for the duration of the study, allocation to the MMHU will be by randomisation. This is not part of the research, but represents clinical service support for it. Potential participants will be identified by the Acute Medical Unit, on simple criteria (''confused', over 65'). The MMHU will confirm clinical eligibility and complete a screening log. If there is a bed available on MMHU the patient will be randomised using an internet based randomisation system (with stratification on care home residence), and the patient assigned to MMHU or a standard care ward. Non-randomised patients can be referred, and, if appropriate, randomised, later in their hospital stay.

Research eligible patients and carers will be invited to participate in research, once on their allocated ward. Consent and participation will be for data collection, observation of care, and follow up only. Excluded patients will continue on their allocated ward outside the trial.

Inclusion criteria

• Patient participants will be over 65, admitted as an emergency to Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust, with an established or possible physical health problem and concurrent 'confusion', clinically eligible for management on the Medical and Mental Health Unit.
• Carer participants will be a family member or carer, in regular contact with the patient participant, to serve both as an informant, and, and to study carer health and outcomes.
• Confusion will be loosely defined, including working diagnoses of:
• Delirium
• Dementia
• Dementia with a suspicion of super-added delirium

Exclusion criteria

• Those who require sectioning under the Mental Health Act
• Those with intoxication to illicit drugs or alcohol, or the immediate care of patients with overdose
• Those with a primary psychiatric problem in the absence of suspected significant physical or functional co-morbidity.
• Those who are severely medically ill, requiring intensive monitoring or therapy (critical care), or sub-specialist medical intervention (e.g. severe acute GI bleeding, respiratory support).
• Those with an overriding clinical need for management in another service e.g. stroke, orthogeriatric, renal, oncology.
• Those with personality disorder, depression or anxiety as the primary psychiatric diagnosis.
• Those who are registered with a non - Nottingham Primary Care Trust General Practitioner.
• Those who do not speak English and have no family translator.