Health - redesign of urgent care: evaluation - technical report

10 Understanding the decision context - Interview topic guide

Semi-Structured Interview

First of all, thank you for your participation. Together with the Picker Institute, we are running a study to evaluate the Redesign of Urgent Care (RUC) in NHS Scotland. In order to do that, it is crucial to first understand the decision context, which consists of the following elements:

a) what is the decision to be informed by the results of the analysis,

b) who is involved in the decision,

c) how does the decision interacts with other decisions,

e) what type of evaluation could inform the decision.

With this in mind, the purpose of these interview is to understand how the local commissioners make healthcare spending decisions and what factors influence the prioritisation process of integrated care programmes. We believe your input will be highly valuable to this research.

This interview will take approximate 45 minute (up to 1 hour). You are free to stop or pause the interview at any point, and you are not obliged to answer all questions. The interview will be recorded but not shared with anyone else, and information will be treated confidentially.

Do you have any question or would you like any additional information? If it is okay with you, I am going to start the audio recording now.

a. Date:

b. Interview Number:

c. Name:

d. Organisation

e. Start time: ________ Finish time: ______

1. General Background

1.1. Can you tell me a bit about your role? Which team are you part of? And, for how long have you been in this position?

1.2. Are you involved in any way in the decision-making process around the RUC?

2. What is the decision to be made

2.1. How would you describe the RUC? (i.e. what kind of services have been changed/dropped/added, which health providers/professionals are involved; who is in charge of coordinating patients’ care) which organisations are involved)

2.2. How would you describe the aims of the RUC?

2.3. Considering that the RUC was started getting implemented nearly two years ago, what do you think that the way forward is? Seeking for improvements at Health Board level? Going back to the pathway as it was before the redesign?

2.4. What kind of economic evidence do you think is needed to move the RUC forward? Comparing the pathway after the implementation of RUC with the pathway as it was previously or compare the RUC between different Health Boards?

2.5. How long will the decision have an impact on the RUC (maybe until the next phase of redesign/implantation)?

3. Who is involved in the decision

3.1. To your knowledge, can you please describe the different stakeholders involved in the decision regarding the next of the RUC?

3.2. Can you also provide their expectations, motivations, and potentially conflicted interests?

4. How does the decision interacts with other decisions

4.1. How is the RUC funded and what governmental budgets does it directly and indirectly affect?

4.2. To what services of the NHS Scotland the RUC has impact upon?

4.3. Are there other ongoing investment decisions that could potentially interact with the decision to move forward (or not) with the RUC?

5. Evaluation to inform the decision

5.1. What would you say are the main constraints or challenges that the Scottish Government faces when assessing the RUC?

5.2. Are you aware of any assessment or monitoring tool of the RUC implementation and its impact?

5.3. What are the most relevant outcomes to assess RUC? (e.g. health outcomes, potential beneficiaries, financial burden, access, satisfaction)

5.4. To your knowledge, is there data or information to assess the impact on these outcomes, and where does the data come from?

Closing statement: Ask for relevant documentation mentioned during the interview.

• Beyond the issues that we have discussed here, do you have any further comments that you wish to add?
• Would you like to receive a copy of the recorded interview?
• Would you like information on the outcomes of the research?
• Many thanks for your time