An increase in research at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust means that patients are getting more access to the latest treatments and medicines.
Research activity doubled across the Trust between April 2018 and March 2019, with 3,813 patients signing up to take part in a wide range of studies.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) have released their research activity league table for 2018/19 – and Hampshire Hospitals is in the top 10 trusts in England for recruitment to commercial research studies, having recruited more than 1,000 extra participants. This means the Trust is ranked as the second most improved in England for recruitment to these studies.
Dr Sarah Clarke, research and development manager at Hampshire Hospitals, which runs Andover War Memorial Hospital, Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and Royal Hampshire County Hospital, in Winchester, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for everyone at Hampshire Hospitals.
“We are a research active Trust and our staff are committed to providing high-quality research opportunities for our patients, while our achievements in 2018/19 demonstrate our capability to successfully deliver commercial research.
“We know from feedback how much our patients appreciate being offered the chance to take part in studies investigating new forms of treatment, and our staff have worked exceptionally hard to ensure as many as possible are given this opportunity.”
One of the departments involved in research and development is the Trust’s Peritoneal Malignancy Institute, which is one of only two centres in the UK treating patients with pseudomyxoma peritonei, a rare abdominal cancer.
Mr Tom Cecil, colorectal surgeon and clinical director of the Peritoneal Malignancy Institute, said: “We have just completed a clinical trial for patients undergoing extensive abdominal surgery for pseudomyxoma peritonei.
“The trial compared two different blood products given to patients to control blood loss during surgery. The new drug appears to be as effective, is easier and quicker to deliver and may potentially be safer. The benefits of this research could be far reaching and we are going to do more trials to further examine them.”
Promoting, conducting and using clinical research to improve treatments, care and services for patients is part of the NHS England Constitution. The NIHR Research Activity League Table provides a picture of how much clinical research is happening, where, in what types of Trusts, and involving how many patients. The NIHR Research Activity League Table can be found on the NIHR website at www.nihr.ac.uk/nihrleaguetable.
Researchers at Hampshire Hospitals will have the opportunity to work even more closely with colleagues across the NHS and in higher education following the creation of the Applied Research Collaboration Wessex (ARC Wessex).
ARC Wessex has been created thanks to an award of £9million from the NIHR and is one of 15 organisations of its type created across England. It will see organisations from across Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and South Wiltshire work together to solve some of the big health issues in their communities.
The team in Wessex is spread across four universities, as well as 11 NHS Trusts and several local authorities, with doctors, nurses, health professionals and care staff working with academics to find practical solutions for patients and health and care systems.
