Table 2.

Final coding tree

Themes		Interviewsa	Sub-themes
	Category 1: Staff experience of implementing the trial intervention
1	Extra work but rewarding	27
2	Team practice changes	24
			Changes to usual care
	Category 2: Barriers to intervention implementation
3	Team challenges	19	`
4	Staffing challenges	37
5	Organisational or workplace barriers	28
			The acute model and culture
			Barriers to ASU access:
			Competing priorities
			Physical environment barriers
6	Staff attitudes and beliefs	32
			Not ‘on board’
			Beliefs about roles and capabilities
			Beliefs about consequences
7	Patients’ barriers	35
			Acuity, instability and complexity
			Severity of stroke
			Fatigue
			Family anxiety
	Category 3: Overcoming implementation barriers
8	Teamwork central to success	43
			Communication and coordination
9	Getting staff ‘on board’	35
			Staff education and training
			Leadership for change
10	Working differently	29
			‘This is what we do here’
			Shifting control
			Staffing model changes
			Dealing with fatigue

^anumber of interviews containing data supporting the theme