A research team from the University of Birmingham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is hoping to speak to patients about their experiences of treatment.

The project is trying to better understand the patient’s journey through hospital to potentially improve the way things are done.

The researchers are looking at four areas of treatment:

• STEMI (heart attack)
• Heart failure
• Emergency cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal)
• End-of-life care

If you’ve had experience of treatment in any of these areas and would like to support the study, the researchers would like to hear from you.

Researcher Laura Lord said: “It is important that we hear staff opinions of what goes on in these areas but we also want to listen to the voices of as many patients as possible to gain a complete picture of services.”

Patients who sign up to the study will take part in an informal interview – just like a conversation – about their thoughts and feelings at different stages of treatment, how they were given information, and what were the good and bad parts of their experience.

The interview will be arranged for a place and time to suit you and all the information discussed will be kept confidential. You can opt to leave the study at any stage. Participation or non-participation will not affect your treatment or medical records in any way.

The research project is being run in partnership by the university and hospital as part of a Birmingham and Black Country project called CLAHRC (Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care) Theme 1.

Any patients who would like to be involved or who would like more information, should contact Project Officer Rosie Hudson:

Tel: 0121 414 9080
Email: r.hudson@bham.ac.uk