SW in the running for top health awards

Three strong contenders from the South West have been shortlisted for the prestigious Health Service Journal Clinical Research Impact award 2016.

Of the 11 organisations announced as having been shortlisted for this award category the three research active trusts from the SW are:

*  South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

*  Devon Dementia Collaboration ( Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Devon Partnership NHS Trust); and the

*  Emergency Department at the Royal Devon & Exeter Wonford hospital.

The Clinical Research Impact award is sponsored by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the research arm of the NHS. The HSJ awards are the largest and most prestigious celebration of healthcare excellence in the UK.

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) has grown its clinical research activity from zero in 2010/11 to having recruited over 2,000 patients to NIHR portfolio research studies in 2015/16. The development and embedding of a research culture has involved incremental changes at all levels of the ambulance service delivery and patient care.

Devon Dementia Collaboration (DDC) set aside conventional ways of delivering research and came up with an effective alternative approach which harnessed the skills and infrastructure of the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Devon Partnership NHS Trust with an integrated multi-disciplinary team. Until this collaboration was created neither of the trusts were able to offer their patients and the public the opportunity to participate in NIHR dementia research. During 2015/16 over 100 people were recruited to NIHR dementia studies by Devon Dementia Collaboration.

The Royal Devon & Exeter (Wonford) hospital Emergency Department has developed local, regional and national collaborations within emergency medicine to embed clinical research as a routine aspect of patient care. The Clinical Research Network in the South West was the top recruiting CRN region in England to injuries and emergency research in 2015/16 and over the past six years the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust alone has recruited more than 1,100 Emergency Department patients to 14 NIHR portfolio research studies.

The shortlisted teams will be presenting to the HSJ awards judging panel on 12 October 2016 and the award winners will be announced at a special ceremony in London on 23 November 2016.