Theme | Patients | Health professionals |
Acceptability of single blood test (LoDED) strategy | Trust and reassurance Having trust in the treating health professionals Feeling reassured by the number of other tests alongside blood test(s) Practicalities and reduced anxiety | Reservations and anxieties Identifying low-risk patients Lack of clinician experience Shortened observation period |
Perceptions of symptom severity and uncertainty | Identification and experience of chest pain Lack of a firm diagnosis Understanding of being a low-risk chest pain patient Legitimate use of NHS services | Ambiguity: diagnosis and ongoing management of ‘low-risk’ chest pain symptoms Explaining risk and uncertainty to low-risk patients Acceptance: a small number of low-risk patients may have a heart attack in the future Lack of follow-up after ED attendance |
Patient discharge information | Patients valued written information Readability and clarity Acceptable level of risk communicated | Lack of current discharge information for patients with low-risk chest pain Fills an information gap for low-risk chest pain patients |
LoDED, limit of detection and ECG discharge strategy.