Evaluation of the Threshold Assessment Grid (TAG) as a means of improving access from primary care to secondary mental health services

ISRCTN ISRCTN86197914
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN86197914
Secondary identifying numbers SDO 71/2003
Submission date
13/08/2004
Registration date
05/10/2004
Last edited
10/11/2022
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Not provided at time of registration

Study website

Contact information

Dr Mike Slade
Scientific

Health Services Research Department (Box P029)
David Goldberg building
Institute of Psychiatry
De Crespigny Park
Denmark Hill
London
SE5 8AF
United Kingdom

Phone +44 (0)20 7848 0795
Email m.slade@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Study information

Study designRandomised controlled trial.
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Not specified
Study typeNot Specified
Scientific titleEvaluation of the Threshold Assessment Grid (TAG) as a means of improving access from primary care to secondary mental health services
Study acronymTAG
Study objectivesPrimary hypothesis: Using the TAG will significantly improve the agreement between the GP and the adult mental health team on the appropriateness of the referral
Secondary hypotheses: Receiving a TAG with a referral letter will make it significantly easier for the mental health team to identify
a. The urgency of the referral
b. The most appropriate professional to make the initial assessment
Ethics approval(s)Added as of 06/08/2007: The study was approved by Metropolitan Multi-centre Ethics Committee (04/MRE11/8) with Local REC approval in London and Manchester, and research governance support from the relevant Primary Care Trusts and Mental Health Trusts.
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedMental health
InterventionControl group: referrers to CMHTs asked to make referrals using a referral letter or form as per existing practice.
Intervention group: referrers to CMHTs asked to complete a Threshold Assessment Grid (TAG) in addition to a referral letter, and given guidance on its contents.

Amendments to the trial as of 01 June 2005:
1. We will now be paying GP practices £100 to cover administrative costs
incurred in providing us with service use data for the 5-10 patients they referred to mental health teams during Jan - June 2005. To facilitate this
service use data collection, the name and date of birth of referred
patients will be recorded at the mental health team referral meeting.
2. We will now be paying GPs £100 for their time in being interviewed to learn about their experiences of using TAG
3. We will be interviewing key informants in mental health teams about their experience in receiving TAGs with the referral letter
4. We will be extending the randomised controlled trial (RCT) from 6 to 9 months, so it finishes on 30 September 2005 instead of 30 June 2005.
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measureCMHT rating of appropriateness of the referral.
Secondary outcome measuresCMHT rating of the quality of information to inform decision-making about urgency of the referral and which professional should make the initial assessment. In addition to this, service usage data will be collected to allow cost effectiveness analysis.
Overall study start date01/01/2005
Completion date30/09/2005

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupAdult
SexBoth
Target number of participants73 GP practices (37 control, 36 intervention)
Total final enrolment73
Key inclusion criteriaGeneral Practitioners (GPs) and other referrers to Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs).
Key exclusion criteriaNone
Date of first enrolment01/01/2005
Date of final enrolment30/09/2005

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • England
  • United Kingdom

Study participating centre

Health Services Research Department (Box P029)
London
SE5 8AF
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

NHS Service Delivery and Organisation Programme (SDO) (UK)
Government

NCCSDO
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
99 Gower Street
London
WC1E 6AZ
United Kingdom

Phone +44 (0)20 7612 7983
Email sdo@lshtm.ac.uk
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/02wnqcb97

Funders

Funder type

Government

NHS Service Delivery and Organisation R&D Programme (UK) (ref: SDO 71/2003)

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryNot provided at time of registration
Publication and dissemination planNot provided at time of registration
IPD sharing planNot provided at time of registration

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Results article 25/07/2007 Yes No
Results article 01/06/2008 Yes No

Editorial Notes

10/11/2022: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. Publication reference added.
2. The total final enrolment was added.