Clinical Research Network West Midlands

Welcome to the Network Newsletter for March 2018 Don’t forget to let us have your items for inclusion in April’s Newsletter – send to: [email protected] by the 15th.

NETWORK NEWS Lucy Cooper - A Unique Advanced Nurse Practitioner Lucy (pictured) is a Research Paediatric Advanced Nurse Practitioner at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Birmingham Clinical Research Facility based at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. Lucy is currently believed to be the only nurse undertaking this role in the UK and this month we profile her work - you can read about it here.

Supporting the Patient Innovator Network Portfolio Manager Duncan Buckley’s own research project demonstrating the benefits of patients and relatives becoming involved and designing research is featured in the Spring Volume of the ICU Management & Practice magazine. This edition was made available to all of the 6,200 delegates at the University of Brussels attending the International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine this month. Its publication has already attracted interest from ICU practitioners in Edinburgh expressing interest in participation for future trials.

Network Blog The latest Blog published by the Network - The Experiences of Non-Medical Principal Investigators in the West Midlands, by Marion Evans et al, has been published. You can find all our blogs on the same site, including the previous one by Pat Ryan called An Alternative to Red, Amber, Green.

Hospice Research Published Details of the Network’s model for Implementation of Research into Hospices through Community of Influence have been published in the British Medical Journal.

Pharma Times Awards Finalists at Warwick Congratulations to the NIHR Coventry and Warwickshire CRF, who are finalists in the PharmaTimes International Clinical Researcher of the Year 2018 – Clinical Site Category. Read more on the Pharma Times website.

Thank You to Research Participants We have a number of Thank You Postcards for use by Trusts and GPs in thanking research participants. If you would like some, please email [email protected]

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Academic Opportunities Birmingham Health Partners (BHP) is pleased to launch the 2018/19 West Midlands Clinical Academic Internship Programme and Masters to Doctorate Bridging Programme. Both programmes are aimed specifically at non-medical healthcare professionals who aspire to undertake Masters or PhD level study, and combine a career in research and clinical practice to achieve better outcomes for patients. For further details please refer to the website. If you have any questions please contact [email protected]. Closing date for applications: Monday 4 June at midday.

PARTNER ORGANISATIONS Queen’s Hospital Burton in the News The work of the R&D Team at Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been featured in the local Newspaper, the Burton Mail.

Dudley Group’s Recruitment Success Russells Hall Hospital, part of the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, is the leading UK recruiter for the FLuid Optimisation in Emergency LAparotomy Trial (FLO-ELA). Read more here.

Better access to vocational advice could improve absence from work due to pain Research led by Keele University shows that providing better access to vocational advice for patients suffering with musculoskeletal pain will improve absence from work, and create huge societal cost savings.

Congratulations to Cannock Chase Hospital The team at Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s Cannock Chase Hospital were the highest recruiters in February to the BSRBR-RA Trial. Well done to them.

Non-specialists Around the UK will Benefit from UHNM Research An educational article written by researchers at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust will help non-specialists around the UK in the management of incidental adrenal tumours, after being published in the high impact medical research journal, The BMJ. Read more here.

WM Leads New Global Research into Low Back Pain Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting an estimated 540 million people at any one time. A new series of papers in The Lancet highlights the extent to which the condition is mistreated, often against best practice treatment guidelines. Researchers from Keele University’s Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences worked with colleagues at Warwick University and universities and healthcare organisations around the world on the new series. The research was covered in national media and online including BBC Health.

EVENTS Third Annual Symposium for Research Professionals This annual Network event will take place on 20 June in Birmingham. More information is available here.

Celebrating multidisciplinary research in the NHS: Generating evidence for best care The Midlands and East of England 2nd Annual Conference: Celebrating multidisciplinary research in the NHS: Generating evidence for best care takes place on Friday 18 May 2018 - in Birmingham. This event will provide plenary sessions and workshops for aspiring researchers on developing their clinical academic careers and for NHS managers interested in embedding these careers within the health service. For further details and the event programme please see the attached flyer.

GENERAL UPDATES New NIHR Themed Review - Forward Thinking A new Themed Review of NIHR research into support for people with severe mental illness has been published. Forward Thinking brings together NIHR research on what can be done to identify and manage the needs of people with severe mental illnesses and to avoid potential problems.

New national standards launched across the UK to improve public involvement in research A set of national standards designed to improve the quality and consistency of public involvement was launched on 20 March at the 2018 Patients First conference.

EU General Data Protection Regulation: Impact on research The rules for handling information relating to research participants will change on 25 May 2018, when the new EU General Data Protection Regulation comes into force. The Health Research Authority has published detailed guidance about operational arrangements that researchers and organisations may need to put in place. The guidance is published as a living document that will be updated over the coming weeks. The HRA will update its website as updated versions are published. Find out more here.

Health Research Authority: An opportunity for those interested in health research and ethics The Health Research Authority is looking for new Research Ethics Committee (REC) members. REC members are volunteers who review research taking place in the UK from an ethical viewpoint; protecting patients and the public while promoting good ethical research. Each member is assigned to a specific committee which has 15 members who are a mix of expert and lay. Every member’s contribution is valued equally. The Health Research Authority is looking for people with a strong commitment to protecting patients and the public and also a commitment to promoting good ethical research. Find out more here.

BMJ Paper - Does the engagement of clinicians and organisations in research improve healthcare performance: a three-stage review The objective of this study was to address the question: Does research engagement (by clinicians and organisations) improve healthcare performance?

www.nihr.ac.uk/wmidlands

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