Communications Bulletin: Special Edition – International Clinical Trials Day

May 20, 2021

1. Celebrating International Clinical Trials Day

Today is International Clinical Trials Day which is celebrated on 20 May each year to recognise the day that James Lind started what is often considered the first randomised clinical trial aboard a ship on May 20, 1747.

It is an opportunity for everyone to recognise people who conduct clinical trials and to say thank you for what they do every day to improve public health.

It is also an opportunity for the research community to raise awareness of clinical trials – and of clinical research as a career option – among the greater public.

Gina Dutton, Head of Research and Development, said: “This year more than ever we need to celebrate the achievements that research has brought to our response to the COVID pandemic. “There has been plenty of research news, the drugs which help and those that do not, the rapid pace of development of the vaccines, but I want to focus today on the people that made this happen in our Trust.

“Many people will be aware that we have a research team and our job is to conduct research studies and ensure that the Trust is compliant with regulations. This year the team like everyone else have completely changed how we have worked and there have been some many learning opportunities. I am immensely proud of the team and how they have responded.

“I do want to say a special thanks and recognise all of the other Trust staff who do not have research in their job title who have ensured that our patients are able to participate in research if they wish to.

“In addition to those departments who often support research such as pharmacy and the labs, we have been supported by an innumerable amount of doctors and nurses on the wards and critical care.

“Colleagues from the medical infusion suite delivered trial treatments to patients on the wards and in critical care. Blood transfusion staff provided convalescent plasma. Infection control have completed reams of data about hospital acquired infections and phlebotomy have taken more than 10,000 of blood and PCR samples for the SIREN study, all of which have been processed by our labs and results distributed by occupational health.

“The business information team have helped us identify eligible patients.

“There have been some individual stars: the person in phlebotomy who raised awareness of SIREN and signposted colleagues our department so we could tell them about the research.

“The post porter who offered to deliver the paper copies of the information sheets around City Hospital.

“We had offers of help to raise awareness and get involved and medical students volunteering to help with data.”

2. Our clinical research facility – two years on

Let’s take a whistle stop tour of our Clinical Research Facility which opened two years ago.

We meet some of the colleagues who are working hard to contribute to the latest advances in healthcare but we also hear from those from the wider Trust who have taken part in research during this last year.

The Clinical Research Facility houses clinical rooms where patients taking part in studies are seen and there’s also a laboratory as well as office space.

Check it out in the short video below.

3. Do you know what happens to your data?

Have you ever wondered what happens to your research data? Well wonder no more! We have put together a short animation which shows patients what happens to their data if they take part in a research study or trial.

You can check out the short video below.

For information about out more about research and development please click here.

4. Why take part in research? Steven Shanu’s story

By taking part in a research study, you could benefit future generations and play a really important role in medical progress.
Play an active role in your own healthcare by gaining access to research treatments before they are widely available.
There is good evidence that a good level of research activity in a Trust has an impact on overall patient care outcomes.

Hear first-hand what it is like to be part of a clinical trial. Our very own Lead Pharmacist, Steven Shanu was part of the Oxford Astra Zeneca trial for the COVID-19 vaccine. Steven shares his story in this video.

5. Lifting the lid on COVID-19 research through new NIHR course

Over one million people in the UK have discovered the benefits of participating in clinical research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with the help of the NIHR’s new free online learning course, more people can now delve into the world of health research.

The NIHR is launching a new short course called ‘COVID-19: Understanding the research behind the pandemic.’ The course aims to uncover the UK’s strong health research operation in conducting critical research in the NHS – which discovered new vaccines and proven treatments in response to the COVID-19 global healthcare crisis.

The two week online course will only take two hours of your time each week and you’ll explore how the research community rose to the challenge to develop life-saving treatments and vaccines with patient safety at the centre of its work. This was only possible due to the unprecedented support from the public around the world willing to take part in clinical research to help fight this new disease.

6. Star Awards 2021: Excellence in Research

Do you know an individual or team who has participated in research which has made a demonstrable difference to patient experience and outcomes?

Nominate them for the Excellence in Research prize in this year’s upcoming Star Awards!

You can complete the online nomination form by clicking here.

Alternative ways to nominate:

You can complete a paper nomination form which you can download by clicking here.
You can send in a video nomination for free to comms@nhs.netvia www.wetransfer.com. Choose go to free. When doing the recording remember to state clearly who you are and the name of the person/team you are nominating.

Be sure to check out last year’s award ceremony featuring last year’s winner for the award, the research and development team (timecode: 36 minutes, 32 seconds).

If you have any questions regarding the Star Awards, please contact the communications team on 0121 507 5303 or email swbh.comms@nhs.net.

For more information, please visit our dedicated Star Awards page on Connect

7. Did you know?…

Since 2016 over 16,000 patients have participated in a research trial at SWB.
Over 200 different research trials have been conducted at SWB in the past five years.
Our Trust conducts research in over 25 different specialities.
Our Trust takes part in local, national and worldwide clinical trials.

8. Find out more and get involved

We have introduced some new research and development Connect pages which have been developed to help busy non research staff become more aware of their impact on research in our Trust. There are general sections for everyone to read and role specific information in Your Role and its impact on research, so whether you work in Trust Exec, corporate or clinical roles, there is information for you. The old research and development Connect pages will have an overhaul later in the year to make it easier for you to find out what research we are doing in the Trust.

You can also follow the team on social media:

Twitter: @SWBH_RandD
Facebook: @SWBHResearchandDevelopment