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Article History

Received: 20 June 2017

Accepted: 24 September 2018

First Online: 4 October 2018

Ethics approval and consent to participate

: Ethics approval and participant consent was not necessary as this study involved the use of the national Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) dataset. Details about HES can be obtained at ExternalRef removed. In addition, the data collection for this study did not require ethics approval as: a) derived from secondary sources which are clearly set out in the paper, b) did not include any patient level identifiable data, c) did not include any patient/public participants, d) the study is categorized as a service evaluation using a consultation approach. The consultants, nurses and service managers involved in the research opted to participate. The interviews were not mandatory. Verbal consent was sought from the consultants, nurses and service managers, where participants had given full consent. As stated in Declarations section, UK ethical approval is not a compulsory requirement for studies which do not involve patients (see the following link for details ExternalRef removed).

: Not applicable.

: David Southern is an employee of Pathway Communications. No conflicting relationship exists for the other authors regarding this article.

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