Service User/Patient/Carer
Participant Information Sheet

•  You are being invited to take part in a research study. 

• Before you decide whether to take part, it is important that you understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. 

• Please read the following information carefully and take time to decide whether you wish to take part or not.  You can discuss it with others if you wish or ask us if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. 

Why is this research study taking place?

Mental health services in the NHS, including this Trust, have been introducing new staff job roles over the last few years. This is to improve services and help meet staffing needs. Previous research has looked at these kinds of jobs on their own to decide if they improve care. However, this often ignores how the whole team and service users are affected by the changes. Introducing a new job may mean that service users get care from larger teams, including new staff with unfamiliar job titles. This can have positive and /or negative effects on people’s experiences of care. 

In this project, we will visit four mental health Trusts in the North of England. We will identify clinical teams that have had a member of staff in a new job in the last two years. We will visit those teams to observe meetings and staff interactions.  We will also talk to staff, managers, service users and carers to see what the new jobs mean to them.  We will use what we learn to write guidelines to help others to introduce new jobs in ways that work best for everyone.  

We would like to speak to you to find out about your experience of the new job(s) in an informal research conversation. This will be recorded, but no-one outside the project team will have access to the recording.

Why have I been invited to take part?

You have been asked to participate, as you are either:

• A current user of NHS mental health services or someone who has used NHS mental health services in the last 12 months, OR

• The carer of a person who is currently using NHS mental health services or who has used them in the last 12 months, AND     

• You (or the person you care for) have seen or are about to see someone in a new job role

What will happen to me if I take part? What do I have to do?

• You will be asked to take part in a research conversation with a member of the research team. 

• Where possible, this will be someone who also has experience of receiving care from a mental health service. 

• This will last for up to an hour and will be recorded so we have an accurate record of what’s been said. 

• You can decide whether it takes place online, by phone or in person at NHS premises. 

• The conversation will be at a time and date to suit you in normal weekday office hours (9am – 5pm).

• The researcher will ask you about your thoughts on the new job. For example, they may ask what it meant for you, what you liked or did not like about it and how your experience could have been improved. The questions will be open-ended so we can explore your views in your own words. 

Do I have to take part?  Can I change my mind? 

• You are completely free to choose whether or not to take part in the study. 

• Your care and that of anyone you care for or support will not be affected whatever you decide. 

If you do decide to take part:

• You will be asked to sign a consent form beforehand.

• A person from the research team will then contact you to arrange the research conversation.      

• During the conversation you can choose to take a break or change your mind about taking part at any time, and any recording will be deleted if you ask. 

• You can stop being part of the study at any time after the conversation, without giving a reason, but after one month your information will have been analysed and added to our wider dataset, so it will no longer be possible to remove it.  

• If you wish to withdraw, please contact Dr Emily Wood: e.f.wood@sheffield.ac.uk. 

Please note that choosing to participate in this research will not create a legally binding agreement, nor is it intended to create an employment relationship between you and the University of Sheffield.

What are the possible disadvantages or risks of taking part?

• We do not expect any disadvantages to taking part. 

• It is possible that the conversation may raise some emotional issues around your experience of the new job role, but you will not be specifically asked about this. 

• If you wish to stop the conversation, take a break or withdraw from the research you will be able to do so at any time. 

• If you feel later that taking part in the research has caused you any distress, please contact your clinical team. 

What are the possible benefits of taking part?

• We will give you £25 in vouchers as a thank you for taking part. 

• We will pay the cost of your travel and other necessary expenses, for example, for childcare, carer time or to bring a supporter with you to the interview. Please contact us to discuss any other possible expenses 

• Receipts will be needed for the cost of travel and other necessary expenses.

•  Whilst there are no other immediate personal benefits to you, we hope that this work will enable NHS Trusts to introduce new jobs into mental health teams in the best way possible. This will benefit staff, service users and carers in the future, improving their experience of care.

How will you use information about me?  What will happen to the data collected, and the results of the research project?

The research data

• We will need to use information from you for this research project.  This information will include your name and contact details and the information from the research conversation.  People will use this information to do the research or to check that the research is being done properly.   

• People who do not need to know who you are will not be able to see your name or contact details.  Your data will have a code number instead.  

• Any personal details that we hold (name and contact details) will be held only until the end of the research project.  We will use these details to send you a summary of the research findings. 

• We will keep all information about you safe and secure according to University policies.

• Only members of the research team and transcribers based in the University of Sheffield will have access to the original recording and transcript from the research conversation.   

• In-person and telephone conversations will be audio recorded on encrypted digital recorders then uploaded onto the University’s secure network in access-restricted folders.  Online video recordings will be converted to audio recordings as soon as possible after the interview and stored in the same secure folders.  

• The recordings will be typed up by staff at the University who have signed a contract of confidentiality, and your name and any other details that could identify you will be removed.  

• The recording will be deleted at the end of the research project. 

• All consent information will be stored securely online.  Information from any paper consent forms will be transferred online and the paper copy destroyed.  

• Once we have finished the study, we will keep some of the data so we can check the results.  We will keep the anonymised transcripts and other data from the research for 5 years.

• It is very likely that other researchers may find the data helpful in answering future research questions.  After the study is completed, data from the research will be archived in the University of Sheffield’s database of research data (ORDA) but this will not contain any personal information about you.  Other researchers can apply to use this data but only if they follow strict requirements to ensure confidentiality.

• All data will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act (2018). 

The results

• Results of the study will be written up as a report and in publications, as well as being presented at conferences and other events.  

• We will write our reports and presentations in a way that no-one can work out that you took part in the study. We may use quotes from our conversation with you, but your name and other identifying information will be removed first.  

• We will use what we find out to produce guidelines to help organisations and managers introduce new roles into mental health services in ways that are best for staff, service users and carers.

• We will upload any written reports or articles relating to the project on our website: New Roles in MH (google.com)

• If you like, we can send you a summary of the results at the end of the project (summer 2025). 

Confidentiality

• We regard confidentiality as extremely important, and all the information we collect about you during the research will be kept strictly confidential.

• However, in the unlikely event that issues regarding criminality or safeguarding arise in the interviews, we have a legal responsibility to pass this information on to the appropriate authorities.

You can find out more about how we use your information by contacting:

• the research team at newrolesresearch@sheffield.ac.uk

• the University’s Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@sheffield.ac.uk

• online at www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients

For further information

For further details, please contact Dr Jaqui Long or Dr Sally Sanger at newrolesresearch@sheffield.ac.uk tel:  07738 101972 who are leading this part of the research.  If you are unable to reach Jaqui or Sally, you can contact Dr Emily Wood or Prof Damian Hodgson who are responsible for the study e.f.wood@sheffield.ac.uk or d.hodgson@sheffield.ac.uk  

Thank you for your interest in this project!

Legal and technical information 

We are required to provide you with the following information.

What is the legal basis for processing my personal data?

According to data protection legislation, we are required to inform you that the legal basis we are applying to process your personal data is that ‘processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest’ (Article 6(1)(e)). Further information can be found in the University’s Privacy Notice: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/govern/data-protection/privacy/general.

We will be collecting some data that is defined in the legislation as more sensitive (your name and contact details). Because of this, we also need to let you know that we are applying the following condition in law: that the use of your data is necessary ‘for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific research purposes or statistical purposes' (9(2)(j)).

Who is the Data Controller?

The University of Sheffield will act as the Data Controller for this study. This means that the University is responsible for looking after your information and using it properly.

Who is organising and funding the research?

This research is organised by the University of Sheffield and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, reference number 152665.

Who is responsible for insurance for the project?

Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust is the NHS sponsor for this project, and is responsible all insurance arrangements relating to its management and design. 

Who has ethically reviewed the project?

This project has been reviewed and approved by the North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee reference 24/NS/0017.   

What if I am not happy and wish to complain about the research?

• If you have any concerns or want to make complaint about the research, you can contact Dr Emily Wood:  e.f.wood@sheffield.ac.uk who is responsible for the study.  

• If you do not feel the complaint has been handled to your satisfaction, you can contact the Head of Department Prof Mark Strong: m.strong@sheffield.ac.uk

• If the complaint relates to how your personal data has been handled, you can contact The University of Sheffield Data Protection Officer, Luke Thompson: dataprotection@sheffield.ac.uk 

• If you wish to report a concern or incident relating to potential exploitation, abuse or harm resulting from your involvement in this project, please contact the project’s Designated Safeguarding Contact Emily Wood e.f.wood@sheffield.ac.uk. 

• If the concern or incident relates to the Designated Safeguarding Contact, or if you feel a report you have made to this Contact has not been handled in a satisfactory way, please contact the Head of the Department, Prof Mark Strong: m.strong@sheffield.ac.uk and/or the University’s Research Ethics & Integrity Manager, Lindsay Unwin: l.v.unwin@sheffield.ac.uk.

• Further information about how to raise a complaint can be found in the University’s Privacy Notice: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/govern/data-protection/privacy/general. 

• If you feel the complaint has not been handled to your satisfaction by the University, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.

participant information sheet v2. 14/2/24 IRAS Ref 333780