Evaluating mental health decision units in acute care pathways (DECISION): an interrupted time series and synthetic control (ITS) evaluation

Evaluating Mental Health Decision Units in acute care pathways (DECISION): An Interrupted Time Series and Synthetic Control (ITS) Evaluation

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN77588384

Enrollment

Registered

2020-02-27

Start date

2012-11-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-03-02

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mental health crisis / Psychiatric crisis Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

This is an observational study investigating an intervention which is already part of clinical practice. The intervention is ‘mental health decision units’ (also known as psychiatric decision units).

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Aggregate, trust-wide service level data will be used. For example, the number of attendances at A&E for mental health crisis per month; the number of out of area beds used by a Trust per month etc. The 'recruitment start date' and 'recruitment end date' shown below refer to the data collection period across all 4 study sites.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: None

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Note: there is a primary outcome for both mental health trusts and acute trusts for each research method. For both the synthetic control (ITS) study and interrupted time series, the variables are measured both 24 months pre- and 24 months post- the implementation period (with the exception of one site, which uses data for 13 months post-implementation). The analyses use aggregate service-level data. 1. Interrupted time series: changes in the number and pattern in the rate of: 1.1. Informal admissions to mental health trust adult inpatient wards (mental health trusts) 1.2. A&E psychiatric presentations (acute trusts) 2. Synthetic control (ITS) study: changes in the number and pattern in the rate of: 2.1. Admissions to mental health trust adult inpatient wards (mental health trust) 2.2. A&E psychiatric presentations (acute trusts)	—

Measure

Time frame

Note: there is a primary outcome for both mental health trusts and acute trusts for each research method. For both the synthetic control (ITS) study and interrupted time series, the variables are measured both 24 months pre- and 24 months post- the implementation period (with the exception of one site, which uses data for 13 months post-implementation). The analyses use aggregate service-level data. 1. Interrupted time series: changes in the number and pattern in the rate of: 1.1. Informal admissions to mental health trust adult inpatient wards (mental health trusts) 1.2. A&E psychiatric presentations (acute trusts) 2. Synthetic control (ITS) study: changes in the number and pattern in the rate of: 2.1. Admissions to mental health trust adult inpatient wards (mental health trust) 2.2. A&E psychiatric presentations (acute trusts)

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Note: there are a large number of secondary outcomes as MHDUs are purported to make a difference to these outcomes; the study will enable these claims to be examined. For both the synthetic control (ITS) study and interrupted time series, the variables are measured both 24 months pre- and 24 months post- the implementation period (with the exception of one site, which uses data for 13 months post-implementation). The analyses use aggregate service-level data. 1. Interrupted time series and synthetic control study; mental health trust outcomes: 1.1. Total inpatient admissions 1.2. Number of 0-5 day inpatient admissions 1.3. Average length of inpatient stay (bed days) 1.4. Compulsory admissions 1.5. Number of psychiatric liaison episodes at the ED 2. Interrupted time series and synthetic control study; acute trust outcomes: 2.1. Number of 4 hour psychiatric ED breaches 2.2. Average length of psychiatric ED wait 2.3. Number of 12 hour trolley waits 2.4. Number of admissions to acute bed 2.5. Arrival at ED by ambulance and police 3. Additional outcomes for the Interrupted Time Series only: 3.1. Daily mean occupied bed days (mental health trust) 3.2. Out of area admissions (mental health trust)	—

Measure

Time frame

Note: there are a large number of secondary outcomes as MHDUs are purported to make a difference to these outcomes; the study will enable these claims to be examined. For both the synthetic control (ITS) study and interrupted time series, the variables are measured both 24 months pre- and 24 months post- the implementation period (with the exception of one site, which uses data for 13 months post-implementation). The analyses use aggregate service-level data. 1. Interrupted time series and synthetic control study; mental health trust outcomes: 1.1. Total inpatient admissions 1.2. Number of 0-5 day inpatient admissions 1.3. Average length of inpatient stay (bed days) 1.4. Compulsory admissions 1.5. Number of psychiatric liaison episodes at the ED 2. Interrupted time series and synthetic control study; acute trust outcomes: 2.1. Number of 4 hour psychiatric ED breaches 2.2. Average length of psychiatric ED wait 2.3. Number of 12 hour trolley waits 2.4. Number of admissions to acute bed 2.5. Arrival at ED by ambulance and police 3. Additional outcomes for the Interrupted Time Series only: 3.1. Daily mean occupied bed days (mental health trust) 3.2. Out of area admissions (mental health trust)

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Countries

England, United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactLucy Goldsmith

lgoldsmi@sgul.ac.uk+44 (0)208 7250167

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Mar 14, 2026