The MEASURE Study

Full title

The MEASURE study: Mixed Methods EvaluAtion of the high-volume low-complexity Surgical hUb pRogrammE

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHS waiting lists for relatively straightforward operations (for example hip replacements, cataract removal) have grown.

To treat more patients quickly, the government is setting up hubs where doctors and nurses only carry out these types of operations and only on patients with a low risk of complications. These places are called “high-volume, low-complexity” (HVLC) surgical hubs.

The UK government is planning to spend £1.5 billion on creating these hubs. Regular NHS hospitals will have to transfer some of their staff to them. It is important to know if these hubs work as well as the government works.

What we are doing

We will review documents from NHS hospitals and services and interview key policy and decision-makers for the hubs initiative.
Statistical analysis will compare NHS data on what happens in areas with and areas without hubs. We will do this every year during the project to look at levels of service, number of patients treated, waiting times and whether all patients benefit equally from hubs.
Researchers will visit up to nine hubs to watch and speak to patients and staff who work at the hub. This will help us find what works well, what needs improving, and how improvements can be made.
Health economics will help us find out which hubs are most and least productive. We will look at factors such as people’s medical conditions, survival rates and waiting times in relation to resources such as equipment, facilities and number of staff.
We will look at the way hubs are staffed and how that affects their wider NHS Trust.