Care Pathway Enhancement (CaPE) Clinic – Information for patients
The Care Pathway Enhancement (CaPE) Clinic is run by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW) and enables people with mood disorders to get involved with research.
Who does the CaPE Clinic see?
The CaPE clinic offers appointments to people over the age of 18 with a mood disorder (depression or bipolar disorder) who are open to the possibility of participating in research, and who may be eligible for an ongoing trial.
How can I be referred to the CaPE clinic?
The CaPE clinic has two main referral routes:
- A referral from a health care professional such as your GP
- Self-referral: Some of the trials that are offered through CaPE accept self-referrals. Self-referral routes vary depending on each trial. If you are wanting to self-refer, see more information about the self-referral routes for each trial
What happens after I’ve been referred to the CaPE clinic?
The clinic will contact those referred to check whether it is an appropriate place for them to be seen. If it is agreed that it is appropriate for them to be seen in the clinic, they will receive an appointment for a thorough clinical assessment. This assessment will last up to two hours and may include completing various questionnaires about any symptoms and possibly physical health tests. Potential treatment recommendations and/or research opportunities will be discussed with the individual. Participation in research is entirely optional. Following the assessment, a letter is sent to the person’s GP detailing any treatment recommendations and any involvement in research that has been agreed with them.
The clinic generally provides one off assessments with advice to the GP and does not provide ongoing care. However, if the person is taking part in a study, or receiving treatment, that requires them to be in specialist mental health care and they are currently only being seen by their GP, they will remain under the care of the CaPE clinic.
Current research opportunities
At any moment in time there are several research opportunities that individuals who attend the CaPE clinic could get involved in. This may include options of taking part in a trial of a new treatment or using an existing treatment in a different way. It can also include studies that are trying to understand mood disorders better and simply require people to complete some questionnaires or have a scan or other such test.
In addition to studies that are currently running, the staff in the CaPE clinic will also be aware of studies that are due to start in the near future, which might also be an option for the individual to consider.
Examples of the sort of studies that might be available for those attending the CaPE clinic include:
- ASCEnD Study: Evaluating the effectiveness of a combination of two existing treatments (the antidepressant sertraline and the antipsychotic aripiprazole) when compared to a standard treatment (quetiapine) for people with bipolar depression. (https://www.ascendtrial.co.uk/)
- COMP 006: Investigating the effectiveness of the psychedelic psilocybin together with psychological support, for people with difficult-to-treat depression. (https://comp006-uk.researchstudytrialeu.com/)
- Janssen VENTURA: A study of the symptoms and care received by people suffering from depression that has not responded to current standard antidepressant treatment (https://mood-disorders.co.uk/research/jansen-ventura-rwe)
For more information about which research studies are currently running visit the Northern Centre for Mood Disorders – NCMD website. Please note – do not contact NCMD for enquiries about the CaPE or involvement in the listed studies. All enquiries should be directed to the CaPE clinic using the following contact details.
Contact details
For referral and for more information about the CaPE Clinic, please contact:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0191 208 1361 or 07919 881 400
Address: Wolfson Research Unit, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE4 6BE
Opening times: Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm