R&D team highly commended in prestigious competition

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has been highly commended in a prestigious national competition for the work it has done to maximise clinical research activity across the region.

Clinical research is the way that doctors gather evidence about new treatments, in order to improve patient care in the NHS. Most NHS organisations do some level of research, but there is a national drive to increase the number of opportunities for patients to take part in high-quality research studies.

The Clinical Research Impact award was presented as part of the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards at a ceremony on London’s Park Lane last night (18 November 2015).

The award is sponsored by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network. It is presented to an NHS organisation that has gone the extra mile to embed clinical research as core business and harness the outcomes of clinical research to improve services and treatments for its patients.

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust was a highly commended runner up and was congratulated for pursuing a strategy to prioritise research.

Ann James, Chief Executive, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are delighted to be highly commended in the prestigious HSJ Clinical Research Impact award. It is acknowledgement of the hard work of an amazing team of research nurses and their support teams and most importantly recognition that the south west is a vibrant research active environment.

“With the support of our Local Clinical Research Network, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has a remit going forward to both promote and embed research into the core business of all its clinical activities and to continue to build strong research collaborations with our local healthcare providers.”

Dr Matt Cooper, Business Development and Marketing Director of the NIHR Clinical Research Network, helped to judge the Clinical Research Impact category. He said: "The Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust entry was remarkable because it was evident that the value of clinical research was understood throughout the organisation, right up to Trust Board level. As a result, research is truly embedded in the psyche of the trust."

Jonathan Sheffield, Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR Clinical Research Network, who presented the award, said: “This award is not just about the size and scale of the research activity, it’s about changing the culture of the organisation. What’s happening in Plymouth is impressive. Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has shown how a fully committed CEO, Trust Executive Board and R&D department can embed research as core business.”

Simon Rule, Associate Medical Director for Research at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are delighted to have been recognised in this prestigious, national award competition and I would like to thank everyone involved for the continuing and increasing work that ensures research plays such an integral role at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.

“This award serves to underline the depth and quality of the research that we are carrying out which has significant current and future value for patients.”
Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust was the overall winner.

High quality research and innovation is fundamental to providing the best healthcare for our population. Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust Research and Development Team has been supporting research for more than 20 years.

The Trust is well respected for its capacity to offer the widest variety of research studies in the Peninsula and continues to provide research in all clinical areas, whether funded by government sources or pharmaceutical companies, thus maintaining a balanced and sustainable portfolio.

Plymouth Hospitals currently has 549 active research studies and, in 2014/15, recruited more than 7000 people to take part in research. It works in close collaboration with the Plymouth University School of Medicine and Dentistry (PUPSMD) to deliver research.