Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 9 June
June 9, 2023
As you know research is explicitly referenced in our Trust Strategy and in this year’s annual plan. It is at the heart of all the services we provide for our patients and local communities. Not only does it allow us to offer our patients and communities access to the latest treatments and advances in health care, it also provides our staff with opportunities for training and development, so our clinicians and managers of the future are better prepared for the more complex and less linear world we now see.
Research was the shared learning topic during the month of May, alongside International Clinical Trials day, over 19 areas committed to engaging more in research as part of their commitment to research. This is timely with the national #redforresearch day being on Friday 16 June. This is a day whereby we are all encouraged to wear something red to celebrate the advances in research and say thank you to all those involved. The breadth of commitment and pledges across the Trust from procurement to IT to community services, to neonatal and surgical care demonstrates that we can all contribute to research regardless of our roles. Whilst we made significant contributions to the COVID portfolio of research our research portfolio is much wider than this for example; Prof Sundha is leading on a national project looking at the diagnosis of gynaecological cancer in primary care. Dr Trudgill is exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence to improve endoscopy outcomes as well as algorithms for detecting missed cancers. Our allied health professionals are also leading on numerous projects with Dr Burgess utilising national data to improve outcomes and guide service delivery. This is to name but a few instances of the fabulous work we are undertaking. On average over 2,500 of our patients contribute to research on an annual basis and we offer multiple opportunities for them to contribute in numerous forms. The advancements in care provided to our patients from research that we have contributed to range from cardiovascular treatments, first line treatments for haematology oncology patients, changes in service for recurrent miscarriage and newborn screening tests to mention but a few.
You may not be aware that we have our very own Clinical Research Facility at the Sandwell site, where patients considering taking part in research are seen and counselled. This hosts clinical rooms, laboratory space, a specific paediatric room, and an array of equipment. Very few Trusts have this facility and I am proud that we are able to offer this space to contribute to the advances in the care of our patients. Our R&D department have been hosting a number of events via a network they have established in the last 12 months ‘Clinical Research Forum’, this has been highly successful in providing support, training and networking opportunities for anyone across the organisation interested in research. I would encourage you all to sign up and see how you can get involved, this can be done via ‘knowledge hub’. We have also recently joined Birmingham Health Partners, a research partnership with the University of Birmingham, UHBFT, Aston University, ROHFT, BWCFT, BSolMHFT. The reach and potential of that partnership is huge, when combined with the diverse population which we serve.
Please join me and the rest of the research team in wearing red on Friday 16 June and sharing your pictures via our social media channels to thank everyone for their contributions to research and also celebrate all that you have achieved in advancing the care and service available to our communities through research.
Do look out for further details of how you can get involved in #redforresearch day on 16 June.