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W A R W I C K S H I R E
WORCESTERSHIRE
H E R E F O R D S H I R E
Current Study – DAPA
VOLUME NO 13
SPRING 2014
Clinical research in the region will receive a boost from 1st April 2014,
with the launch of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
Clinical Research Network: West Midlands.
New Study – LIPOS
Midlands Paediatric
Allergy Group (MPAG)
Goodbye PCRN, Welcome CRN
The three CLRNs in West Midlands, PCRN Central England and
the Topic Specific Networks are merging into a single integrated
Network for West Midlands, the Clinical Research Network (CRN)
West Midlands. This transition is being done to achieve a more
streamlined research network structure. The strengths across
PCRN in engaging primary care, delivering high levels of participation in research, successful
completion of studies, and high patient recruitment rates, will be carried forward into the new
organisation. PCRN achieved great things, with approximately 20% of all studies being reliant
on primary care input, approximately 30% of all recruitment coming from these studies and
around 50% of practices having been involved in some research participation.
Although there will be a new logo and name, the local primary care contacts will remain
the same; existing network staff will remain as the first point of call with any queries or
requests about primary care research participation. In that sense, it is business as usual!
Having the opportunity to take part in research studies is important to the region’s patients
and carers. According to a consumer poll carried out by Censuswide last year, 93% per cent of
people in the West Midlands said that NHS doctors and nurses should always tell patients
about clinical trials that would be suitable for them.
National Association for
Patient Participation (NAPP)
CONTENTS
2-3
New Primary Care Studies 4-5
Research Update
6
Study Update
7
Local News
PARTICIPATE
New Start for
Clinical Research Network:
West Midlands
POINTS OF
INTEREST
Current Primary
Care Studies
W E S T M I D L A N D S S O U T H P R I M A RY C A R E R E S E A R C H N E W S L E T T E R
8-9
Local Research
10
Readers’ Feedback
11
CLRN/Governance Update 12
In this edition we feature articles on:
•taking part in a national observational cohort study looking at which symptoms and
examination findings are most accurate for early identification of lung and colorectal cancer
(page 2)
•a new study looking at whether the combined use of Metformin SR and Liraglutide will
improve menstrual regularity amongst women diagnosed with PCOS (page 5)
•following up results on the Co-Creating Health initiative, a national programme which
aimed to transform health care services so that people with long term conditions could
take a more active role in their health (page 7)
•HOPE, an innovative Skype and web-based self-management programme for people living
with dementia, and their carers (page 8)
Delivering research to make patients,
and the NHS, better
If you would like to contribute to Participate or for further information please contact
Jenny Oskiera, email: j.oskiera@warwick.ac.uk
Current Primary Care Studies
CANDID – CANcer DIagnosis Decision rules
Would you like to take part in
a national observational cohort study?
We are currently recruiting practices
across Coventry, Warwickshire,
Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
CANDID is looking at which symptoms and
examination findings are most accurate for
early identification of lung and colorectal cancer.
It is a multi-centre study led by Professor
Paul Little at the University of Southampton,
funded by the NIHR National School of
Primary Care Research (NSPCR) and
sponsored by the University of Southampton.
Throughout the study GPs will provide
usual care. GPs and practice nurses will be
asked to identify and recruit participants, take
informed consent, obtain and record clinical
information, offer the option of taking a blood
or saliva sample and undertake a medical
notes review two years following recruitment.
So far in West Midlands South, four
practices have agreed to participate in this
study, with more practices under consideration.
Initiation visits will commence from April.
For further information, or if you have any questions, please contact
the research facilitators Jenny Lee, email: jennifer.lee@warwick.ac.uk or
Julia Roscoe, email: j.roscoe@warwick.ac.uk or phone: 02476 575 919.
Helicobacter Eradication Aspirin Trial
Helicobacter eradication to prevent ulcer
bleeding in aspirin users: a large simple
randomised controlled trial
Principal investigator Birmingham region:
Prof Richard Hobbs.
Locations: ~400 GP practices in Birmingham
and Black Country, Worcestershire, Coventry
and Warwickshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire,
Herefordshire, Stoke, Telford and Wrekin,
Wolverhampton, Sussex & Surrey, Nottingham,
Durham, Southampton, and Oxford.
Enrolment Period: 2012 – June 2014
Participants: Men and women aged 60+, infected
with H. pylori, who are using aspirin <326mg daily
Other Information: This trial has been preceded
by a successful pilot study, funded by the MRC.
Practices will be reimbursed for their time.
Use of aspirin for cardiovascular prophylaxis is widespread and
increasing. The main hazard is ulcer bleeding. This is usually
associated with H. pylori infection. It is important to determine
whether this can be reduced or prevented by H. pylori eradication.
The trial hypothesis is that aspirin does not itself cause peptic
ulcers, but that it promotes bleeding of ulcers caused by H. pylori.
Given the scale of aspirin use, its continuing increase and its
contribution to ulcer bleeding, how to deal with this problem is
arguably the most important question with regard to current
iatrogenic medicine.
Intervention and Clinic: Suitable patients will be identified by their
surgery, using an automated search, and then asked to attend an
appointment with a University Research Nurse or Practice Nurse
(relevant training will be provided) to consent to the trial and take a
H. pylori breath test. Those with a positive result will be randomised
to receive a one week course of either eradication treatment or
placebo, supplied by the trial centre. No follow-up visits for the
patients are required, but any hospital admissions for ulcer bleeding
will be recorded over a period of 2-3 years by the trial centre.
Further information: If you would like to find out more, please contact the trial manager for your region, Rachel Iles,
phone: 0121 414 2691, email: r.iles@bham.ac.uk
Page 2
Current Primary Care Studies
Brief intervention for Weight Loss
The invitation to GPs to contribute to a trial of a very
brief intervention to help patients lose weight is still open.
We invite you to participate in BWeL,
a randomised controlled trial testing
the effectiveness of GPs’ 30-second
opportunistic intervention to support
weight loss in obese adults.
Recruitment is progressing well, with
around 860 participants enrolled so
far. We are looking to recruit almost
another 1000 patients from GP
practices across England.
Why is this trial important?
25% of the UK’s adult population
is obese and modest weight loss
reduces the incidence of type II
diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Recent evidence demonstrates that
commercial weight loss services,
available to NHS patients on
prescription, can lead to clinically
significant weight loss (see related
report on Lighten Up; www.bmj.com/
content/343/bmj.d6500).
Your involvement as a GP
For patients assigned to the
intervention group, ‘practical support’,
you would explain that weight loss is
more successful with the support of
a commercial service and offer
a free referral accompanied
by a progress review
appointment in a month’s
time. In the control
group you would
encourage weight
loss by stating the
benefits to health.
Both approaches
are opportunistic
and very brief. If you
feel patients require
more than 30 seconds,
you could offer them
Dementia and
Physical Activity
We are currently working with GP
practices in the West Midlands South
and seeking people with mild to
moderate dementia who may wish
to take part in a study. The DAPA study
aims to show whether a programme of
exercise can have a beneficial effect on
cognition (memory and understanding)
as compared to usual care.
another appointment for more
detailed discussion; we will provide
you with appropriate training for this.
What are the benefits of
participating in BWeL?
• Patients randomised to ‘practical
support’ will be entitled to 12 free
sessions with a commercial weight
loss service (Rosemary Conley or
Slimming World)
• Socio-demographic, height and
weight data will be collected for all
patients attending during BWeL
recruitment sessions, and can be
used to update medical records
• Costs for taking part are covered
• The BWeL training contributes
towards CPD and can be
implemented and reflected upon
for double points
Principal investigators:
Dr Amanda Lewis and Prof. Paul
Aveyard, Dept. of Primary Care
Health Sciences, University of Oxford.
We are looking for GPs
to identify patients who have:
• Mild to moderate dementia
• Are able to walk about 10 feet
• Live at home
Participants who are allocated to exercise will
exercise with around five other people twice a
week for four months. Classes will be held in
local exercise venues. Travel expenses will be
reimbursed. Practices will be reimbursed for
their time and efforts.
Throughout 2014, the DAPA study will be
running exercise groups in the following areas:
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Coventry,
Rugby and Nuneaton, Worcester, Bromsgrove,
Redditch and Kidderminster.
Image courtesy of Apolonia at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
If your practice is interested in taking part, please contact Sarah Clarke,
Trial Coordinator, phone: 07865 617958, email: sarah.clarke@phc.ox.ac.uk
If you are interested in receiving more
information, please contact the team
quoting ‘DAPA’ phone: 02476 150 955
or email: DAPA.Trial@warwick.ac.uk
Page 3
New Primary Care Studies
Developing indicators for the Quality
and Outcomes Framework (QOF)
Researchers at the University of Birmingham in the National
Collaborating Centre for Indicator Development have been working
with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
since 2009 to develop and pilot potential new indicators for the
Quality and Outcomes framework. During this time we have piloted
over 75 new indicators, and work continues.
As part of the piloting process we
work with 34 GP practices in England.
These practices implement the
potential new indicators for six months
each year as well as completing
workload diaries and pre- and
post-pilot audits of achievement.
At the end of the six months,
practice staff are interviewed and
their views sought as to whether the
indicators should be considered for
inclusion in QOF and their reasons.
Practices who have worked with
us describe the process as being
interesting and a real opportunity
to influence the future direction of
the QOF.
We are continuing to recruit GP
practices to work with us until 2016.
If you would be interested in finding
out more about this study please
contact Rachel Foskett-Tharby
email: r.fosketttharby@bham.ac.uk
or Dr Paramjit Gill email: p.s.gill@
bham.ac.uk
Here to Stay
Research into the needs, experiences and outcomes of health and
social care services of people with learning disabilities from ethnic
minority communities, including new migrants, living in England
The Department of Health recognises that while progress
is being made, people with learning disabilities from ethnic
minority communities, including new migrants, have difficulties
in accessing appropriate services and face substantial
inequalities and discrimination in health and social services.
Commenced in July 2010, ‘Here to Stay’, is a five year
national research project that aims to provide evidence about
prevalence, needs and service requirements of people with
learning disabilities from ethnic minority and new migrant
communities.
To address these issues, we are using retrospective
data collection and prospective surveys, focus groups,
semi-structured interviews and consensus building methods
as our approach to collecting data. We are using this multimethod approach to ensure that we capture the richness
and depth of the experiences of our partners in the research.
We put these outcomes to a representative sample of
key stakeholders in a consensus building conference.
Our aim is to produce a national set of guidelines that will
best assist service commissioners and providers to make
services both available, and visible, to migrants who may
not otherwise know about them and their entitlements.
In the last phase of the study we will select a pilot site
to test the guidelines and examine the extent to which
they impact upon an increase in numbers of migrants using
learning disability services, their experience of the service
and improved outcomes.
Your involvement
If you would like to participate in our study, we would like
you to complete our online survey available on the project’s
website: http://arcuk.org.uk/heretostay/
For further information, please contact Dr Olga Kozlowska, Centre for Health and Social Care Improvement,
University of Wolverhampton, email: o.kozlowska@wlv.ac.uk
Page 4
New Primary Care Studies
Benefits of
Aldosterone
Receptor
Antagonism in
Chronic
Kidney Disease Trial
Objectives
To determine whether the addition of an aldosterone receptor
antagonist (ARA) in patients with moderate Chronic Kidney
Disease (CKD):
• reduces death
• reduces onset, or progression of, cardiovascular disease
• improves measures of vascular resistance
• improves left ventricular function
• reduces decline in renal function
Background
Better treatment options providing protection from vascular events or delaying
progression of CKD are urgently needed. There are limited therapeutic options
to reduce overall cardiovascular risk in CKD. Accumulating data suggest ARAs
may offer cardio-protection and delay renal impairment in some patients.
BARACK D is the only current large prospective randomised
open blinded endpoint trial (PROBE) focussing on this theme.
Recruitment
120 practices are being recruited nationally. Patients identified by their GPs
with a diagnosis of CKD Stage 3b will be invited to take part, with approximately
22 per practice enrolling.
Participation
For the 36 month follow-up, patients will be randomised to either:
a) treatment plus standard care
b) standard care alone
ARA for CKD – the “renal aspirin”?
For further information, please contact Dr Ben Thompson, senior trial manager,
phone: 01865 289 296, email: ben.thompson@phc.ox.ac
The Lipos Study:
Liraglutide in PCOS
Principal Investigator:
Dr Harpal Randeva
Location: University Hospital
Coventry and Warwickshire,
with recruitment from UHCW,
George Eliot and Warwick Hospitals
as well as NHS Community Health
Clinics and GP practices within
Coventry and Warwickshire.
Enrolment Period:
October 2013 - December 2014
Participants: Women with PCOS
Study Details
The Lipos (Liraglutide
in PCOS) study has
recently begun
recruitment in the
Coventry and
Warwickshire area.
Lipos is a prospective,
randomised, double
blind, placebo controlled study investigating
the use of Liraglutide alongside Metformin
SR to improve fertility and symptom
control in women diagnosed with Polycystic
Ovary Syndrome. The study is funded by
Novonordisk, sponsored by the University
of Warwick and hosted by UHCW.
The study aims to establish whether the
combined use of Metformin SR and
Liraglutide will improve menstrual regularity
amongst women diagnosed with PCOS.
Secondary outcome measures include
improvements in other symptoms and
effects of the condition including hirsutism,
metabolic syndrome and difficulty
controlling weight and acne.
We aim to enrol 106 participants,
who will all receive Metformin SR, with
randomisation leading to 50% receiving
Liraglutide and 50% receiving a placebo.
Participants will need to attend UHCW on
a number of occasions (17) over a period
of 62 weeks, with multiple data being
collected by study clinicians at each visit to
measure a wide range of metabolic and
cardiovascular parameters. Potential
participants should be over 18 and
diagnosed with PCOS.
If you would like to be involved, or
for more information, please contact
Dr Randeva email: harpal.randeva@
warwick.ac.uk or the study nurse, Kay
Webb, email: kathryn.webb@uhcw.nhs.uk
Page 5
Research Update
Major New National Research Programme
– your Participation Invited
CRN: West Midlands is fully
committed to inviting all
practices to join the Clinical
Practice Research Datalink
(CPRD) a secure, world-class,
e-health research system jointly
funded by the National Institute
for Health Research (NIHR) and
the Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency
(MHRA). We ask you to
fully support this important
initiative by enabling access to
your practices’ anonymised
data for research.
Data security
Data security, together with patient and practice confidentiality, is CPRD’s number
one priority. Indeed, Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director, and Sir Kent Woods,
MHRA Chief Executive Officer, who are the Caldicott Guardians of the NHS and
MHRA respectively, have both fully endorsed CPRD’s data security arrangements.
CPRD collects all coded data (diagnoses, treatments, referrals, lab results,
demographics) against a CPRD identifier. CPRD does not receive NHS numbers,
names, addresses or post codes. CPRD is working with the major GP IT systems
(Vision, EMIS, TPP) on data collection; this happens automatically, does not interfere
with existing systems or the normal day to day running of a practice and require
very little input from practice staff after the initial set up.
Benefits of participation
• Data feedback can help improve the quality of practice data, which may help to
stimulate improvements in QoF or other similar schemes.
• Submitting data to CPRD is an easy way to contribute to important public health
research which in turn translates to improved evidence-based patient care and
potential new medicines.
“Involvement in CPRD has been beneficial in helping us improve quality
of care at our practice, as we are able to review what we do, compared
with the national average. The staff at CPRD are always helpful,
although we rarely need to contact them as the whole thing requires
little to no effort. The income from participating helps too. Data is
taken electronically in a secure manner and in an anonymised format.”
Rachel Vial, Practice Manager, Shipston Medical Centre, Warwickshire
“CPRD is invaluable for research – we can collect large
amounts of anonymised routine clinical data without
the need for practice involvement, therefore reducing
the burden on practices having to supply outcome data
for research they are involved in. The PLEASANT study is
using CPRD to collect routine clinical data on approximately 14,000
school aged children with asthma over 18 months. Asking GP practices
to complete individual CRFs to capture every medical contact (both in
and out of hours) for every child (average 100 patients/practice) would
have been a huge task. The PLEASANT trial recruited to time, target
and delivered the intervention per protocol across 142 practices in
England and Wales. We will receive complete outcome data from all
sites for all participants – this would not have been achieved without
practices being linked to CPRD.”
Dr Michelle Horspool, Pleasant Trial Manager, Sheffield Clinical Trials Unit
To sign up or to ask additional questions please contact the team at CPRD directly, CPRD Knowledge Centre,
phone: 020 3080 6383, email: kc@cprd.com or website: www.cprd.com
Research Design
Service (RDS)
If you would like any further information,
please contact us on rds@warwick.ac.
uk or via www.rds-wm.nihr.ac.uk
Page 6
Do you have a good research idea that
you’d like to develop further into a
grant application? The RDS can help by
providing methodological expertise and
advice on all aspects of research design.
The RDS exists to provide help and
advice to NHS researchers and others
working in partnership with the NHS in
preparing research proposals for
submission to peer reviewed funding
competitions. As the RDS is funded by the
NIHR such help is provided free of charge.
Here are some of the ways we can help:
• F ormulating research questions
•B
uilding an appropriate research team
• Involving patients and the public
•D
esigning a Study
• Appropriate methodologies for
quantitative and qualitative research
• Identifying suitable funding sources
•R
egulatory issues
• Writing lay summaries
• Identifying the resources required
for a successful project
Study Update
Evaluation of the Co-Creating Health initiative selfmanagement programmes for long-term conditions (CCHi)
What was the Co-Creating
Health Initiative?
The Co-Creating Health Initiative
(CCHi) was a national programme,
funded by The Health Foundation,
which aimed to transform health care
services so that people with long term
conditions could take a more active
role in their health. The programme
was delivered between November 2007
and September 2010, and included
three strands of action:
•A
n advanced development
programme for clinicians to develop
the skills required to support and
motivate their patients to take an
active role in their own health
•A
self-management course for people
with long-term conditions to develop
the knowledge and skills they require
in order to manage their long-term
condition and work in effective
partnership with their clinicians
•A
n organisational development
programme to support patients and
healthcare professionals, working
together, to identify and implement
new approaches to health service
delivery which enable patients to take
a more active role in their own health.
Local Involvement in
Co-Creating Health
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership
Trust, University Hospitals Coventry
and Warwickshire NHS Trust, NHS
Warwickshire PCT and NHS Coventry
PCT were all involved in this study.
Coventry and Warwickshire were
comparator sites in the main evaluation
for depression and diabetes.This means
that the improvement programme and
self-management programmes were not
run locally. Instead, patients were
recruited and completed many of the
same evaluation outcome measurements
as in areas where the programme did
take place. This allows for comparisons
to be made between sites where the
programme was run, and sites where it
did not run. The particular analysis
presented here does not include the
data from the local population.
A team from the Applied Research Centre in Health and Lifestyle Interventions at Coventry
was awarded funding to evaluate the Co-Creating Health Initiative (CCHi) for improving
the care for people with long-term conditions. The evaluation has used mixed-methods to
determine both the effectiveness of the initiative for improving health outcomes and to
understand the process of change and improvement that has resulted from the initiative.
The team recently presented the results of the self-management programmes at the UK
Society for Behavioural Medicine Conference in Oxford.
The content of the self-management programmes was modelled on the lay-led, generic
Expert Patient Programme. They were co-delivered by health professional and peer tutors.
The programmes contained behavioural change techniques such as goal-setting, action
planning and problem solving, plus condition specific content. Programmes focussed on four
long-term conditions: diabetes, musculoskeletal pain, depression
and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Condition-specific results
Diabetes: 77% patients completed the course. 60.2% showed a
meaningful improvement in patient activation scores. There was
also a significant improvement in diabetes-related quality of life but not health-related
quality of life. There were no improvements in health status, depression or anxiety levels.
Musculoskeletal pain: 69% of patients completed the course, and 50.3% of those showed
meaningful improvement in patient activation. Health status, anxiety and depression and
self-management skills were also significantly improved.
Depression: 69% of patients completed the course and 56% of those showed a meaningful
improvement in patient activation. Health-related quality of life, health status, anxiety and
depression and self-management skills also significantly improved.
COPD: 79% of patients completed the course and 49.5% of those showed a meaningful
improvement in patient activation and felt more mastery of their condition.
1170 patients completed measures before the programme and 588 completed measures
six months afterwards. Across all four conditions, 54% of patients showed a meaningful
(>4 point) improvement in patient activation, which means there are more likely to carry
out self-care activities. Health-related quality of life, health status, anxiety and depression
were also significantly improved six months after the programme.
Clinician results
Clinicians from CCHi participating sites were offered an opportunity to attend Clinicians’
Advanced Development Programme (ADP) - training for healthcare professionals working
with patients with long term conditions that addresses the principles and practice of
self-management support and teaches four specific techniques that have demonstrated an
impact on the clinician-patient relationship and can be used during clinical consultations.
The four key skills include:
• establishing an empathic clinician-patient relationship
• joint agenda setting for each consultation
• collaborative goal setting, exploring ambivalence about change
•using problem-solving skills and using systemic tools to
support goals’ follow up
The ADP recruited 665 clinicians and 465 completed the
programme. 489 clinicians completed the baseline measures
before attending the programme and 407 completed post ADP measures. Attending ADP
programme increased clinicians’ confidence to support self-management and increased using
clinical self-management support practices (including building an equal clinician-patient
relationship, using behaviour change processes and exploring the patient’s self-management
strategies) and patient centred practices (including customising the treatment to a patient’s
preferences and taking an individualised approach). In interviews clinicians confirmed that
the training increases use of self-management support practices, however some found ADP
techniques irrelevant and difficult to use.
For further information, please see the full report: http://www.health.org.uk/publications/
co-creating-health-evaluation-phase-1/
Page 7
Local News
New Primary Care Based
Support Service for Family Carers
Family carers are your most valuable partners – the value of the care they
provide is equivalent to another NHS – about £500m in Coventry. 10% of your patients are family carers. Make sure you identify
them and refer them to the support services available. GP Based Carer’s Support Clinics are available at the following Surgeries:
VENUE
LOCATION
DATE
TIME
Balliol Road Surgery
Broomfield Park Medical Centre
City of Coventry Health Centre
Copsewood Medical Centre
Edgwick Medical Centre
Forrest Medical Centre
Forrest Medical Centre
Jubilee Health Care
Jubilee Health Care
Longford Medical Centre
Sky Blue Medical Centre
Sky Blue Medical Centre
Paradise Medical Centre
Stoke Aldermoor Medical Centre
Tile Hill Health Centre
Willenhall Oak
Willenhall Primary Care Centre
Westwood Medical Centre
Baliol Road
Spon End
Stoney Stanton Road
Momus Boulevard, Binley
Queen Mary’s Road
Mount Street
Prior Deram,Canley
Station Ave, Tile Hill
Westminster Road
Longford Road
Green Lane
Harnall Lane East
Broad Street
The Barley Lea
Limbrick Wood, Woodside Dr Sadrani
Remembrance Road
Remembrance Road
Tile Hill Lane
Every Friday afternoon
Last Thursday of the month
Every Monday
Thursday fortnightly
Every Tuesday
Monday fortnightly
Friday fortnightly
Last Friday of every month
Last Friday of every month
Every Monday
Thursday fortnightly
Every Monday
Every Tuesday or Wednesday
Friday fortnightly
Every Monday
First Tuesday of the month
Every Tuesday
4th Wednesday of the month
2.00pm – 4.30pm
9.00am – 12.00pm
9.15am – 1.15pm
2.00pm – 5.00pm
9.00am – 12.00pm
2.00pm – 6.00pm
8.30am – 12.30pm
9.00am – 1.00pm
2.30pm – 5.00pm
2.00pm – 5.00pm
8.00am – 1.00pm
9.00am – 12.00pm
9.00am – 12.00pm
2.00pm – 6.00pm
2.00pm – 6.00pm
2.00pm – 5.30pm
9.00am – 1.00pm
2.00pm – 5.30pm
If you would like a Carers’ Clinic to be set up at your surgery, please contact us at Coventry Carers’ Centre. Refer family carers to
us through the GP Gateway or Contact Coventry Carers’ Centre, phone: 02476 632 972, email: contactus@coventrycarers.org.uk
Bringing HOPE
to People Living
with Dementia
and their Carers
Audit of Injection Therapy
Clinics Performed by
Physiotherapists in
Primary Care
Globally there is a new case of dementia
every four seconds; by 2020 there will be nearly 70 million people living with
the condition. Five NHS physiotherapists within the Worcestershire
Health and Care NHS Trust each kept a record of
all patients they saw for injection therapy, between
1st October and 30th November 2012 inclusive.
West Midlands Academic Health Sciences Network
(WM ASHN), through their digital theme, have
funded the researchers at the Applied Research
Centre in Health & Lifestyle Interventions at
Coventry University to further develop the
innovative HOPE Skype and web-based selfmanagement programmes for people living with
dementia, and their carers. WM ASHN aims to improve the identification,
adoption, spread, speed of innovation and good
practice in the NHS by supporting the NHS and
academia to work collaboratively with industry. The
project will run for 12 months from March 2014.
When assessing pain-scales, patients were asked to verbally rate
their pain between 0 and 10, with 0 representing no pain and 10
representing very severe pain.
After performing the injection an assessment sheet was completed.
This was then passed to a Senior Administrator who later telephoned
patients for assessment of pain scores at two and four weeks post injection.
A total of 101 injections were analysed which had complete results
at weeks zero, two and four weeks post injection.
All average pain scale scores were reduced four weeks after injection
for all conditions.
Contrary to a common patient perception, injection therapy is not an
exceptionally painful experience, with an average score of 3.2 out of 10.
If you would like further details please contact
Dr Andy Turner, email: a.turner@coventry.ac.uk
Page 8
If you would like further information please contact
Gordon Smith, University of Worcester, phone: 01905 542585
or email: g.smith@worcs.ac.uk
Local News
Public Involvement and Lay
Accountability in Research (PILAR)
6th March saw the launch of a new public
involvement forum for the West Midlands
PILAR is a regional leadership group
that comprises representation from:
• The Academic Health Science Network (AHSN),
• Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC),
• Research Design Services (RDS)
• Local Clinical Research Network (LCRN)
Midlands Paediatric
Allergy Group
(MPAG)
The National Pollen and Aerobiology
Research Unit (NPARU) at the University
of Worcester is hosting the Spring 2014
meeting of the Midlands Paediatric Allergy
Group (MPAG) at the City Campus on
9th May. The MPAG is organised by
Dr Nick Makwana, Consultant
Paediatrician at Sandwell and West
Birmingham NHS Trust with the aim of
sharing best practice in managing children
with allergies, discussing interesting cases
and hearing talks from leading researchers
and practitioners in the field.
Professor Roy Kennedy,
Director of NPARU, says
Key values and objectives of PILAR
The main focus of PILAR is the PCPIE strategy in the West Midlands, encouraging lay
accountability at all levels, capturing the views of patients, service users, carers and
members of the public and continuing to develop the research culture amongst health
care professionals, academic researchers and the wider NHS community.
The West Midlands PCPIE strategy has 4 objectives to involve patients, carers and
members of the public at all levels of research:
1. Lay accountability: patient involvement in key decisions
2.Involvement in the generation, conduct & analysis of research: give opinions on
research ideas, design and documentation to improve patient experience and
deliver patient-centred services
3.Engagement in the wider endeavour: support better access to and awareness of
research studies
4.Evaluation: measuring the impact of PCPIE methods on research study recruitment
and outcomes
PPG Awareness Week 02 - 07 June 2014
PPG Awareness Week aims to promote the role and benefits of
PPGs to patients, the public and health professionals, to create
more understanding of the value of true patient participation
also to promote the support available from the National Association for Patient
Participation (NAPP).
National Association for Patient Participation
(NAPP) Research Engagement Award
There is a new annual prize for Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) of
£500 sponsored by NIHR CRN. This is to encourage PPGs to become
actively involved in raising awareness about research to patients, carers
and healthcare staff. The award is to be introduced at the NAPP Annual Conference
on 7th June by Simon Denegri. The next couple of months will see the launch of a
new NIHR CRN Primary Care PPG Research Engagement Toolkit, which can be found
in the award application pack.
For further information on NAPP, please visit: www.napp.org.uk/
“We are delighted to welcome
the Midlands Paediatric Allergy
Group to the University. It is
appropriate that the meeting is
being held at our City Campus
in what was the board room of
the Old Worcester Infirmary.”
Dr Adam Fox, Consultant & Reader in
Paediatric Allergy at Guy’s & St Thomas’
Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is giving
the keynote talk on immunotherapy in
aeroallergen sensitisation. There will also
be talks by Professor Kennedy on climate
change and airborne allergens, Dr Tom
Dawson, Consultant Paediatrician at
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
on Food Allergy Syndrome and from Lynne
Regent, Chief Executive of The Anaphylaxis
Campaign, on how the charity can help with
education on this condition.
For further information, please contact
Louise Robertson, Researcher,
National Pollen and Aerobiology
Research Unit, University of Worcester,
email: l.robertson@worc.ac.uk or
Nick Makwana, email: nmakwana@nhs.net
Page 9
Local Research
Recruitment to Time and Target:
Challenges, Problems and Opportunities
Peter Zeh, Recruitment Network Facilitator (Clinical Trials)
Why take part in research?
Individual patient benefit: improved
patient care, access to cutting edge
treatment and to staff with specialist
knowledge; the possibility that during
screening other undiagnosed medical
conditions may be identified and
treated promptly; joining a trial can
reduce a patient’s feeling of isolation
by seeing others with similar
conditions, and boost morale.
General patient benefit: improved
treatment, identified in a study, can be
cascaded by the general practitioner
through to all other patients with the
same condition.
Practitioner benefit: Working within
and across and organisational
boundaries in testing innovations;
the assurance that their patients will
be receiving the latest treatment;
access to a specialist knowledge base;
additional training for staff; raising of
practice profile; contribution towards
QOF and personal CPD.
Organisational benefits: Surrogate
indicator of high quality care; more
incentives/funding could be awarded to
GPs which recruit to time and target.
“. . . a virtuous circle of
improved patient care. . .”
Obstacles to participation
Practitioners may feel they lack the
time to engage in research which
may eventually prove not be of
patient benefit. Without experience
of the possible benefits of engaging
in research patients may lack the
confidence to suggest their practice
might participate.
How to encourage
engagement
The most important factor for any
research facilitator to remember
when making contact with a potential
practitioner or participant is the impact
of the personal touch. Building a
To contact Peter Zeh,
email: p.zeh@warwick.ac.uk
Herefordshire Research
Awareness Day
Research
Awareness Stand
Monday 19 May 2014, 10:30 – 14:30
Lecture Theatre, Postgraduate Medical Centre,
Hereford County Hospital
Tuesday 20 May 2014,
10:00 – 14:00
Hereford County Hospital
Wye Valley NHS Trust are
delighted to invite you to
their Research Awareness
day, which is being held as part of the celebrations for
International Clinical Trials Day.
The event is open to all patients, carers and NHS staff
who would like to find out more about research within
Herefordshire. The day will showcase the achievements of
researchers from the Trust and Primary Care to explore
the benefits of greater involvement from patients and
collaboration with healthcare professionals.
NIHR Clinical Research
Network: West Midlands,
along with members of Trust
staff, are holding an awareness
stand on Tuesday 20 May
2014, 10am until 2pm at the
County Hospital, main
reception, in support of this year’s International Clinical
Trials Day ‘It’s OK to ask’. Information will be available on
research networks and how patients and members of the
public can take part in research.
For more information and to reserve your place,
please contact Jo Sampson, phone: 01905 760 221 or
email: joanna.sampson@worcsacute.nh.uk
Page 10
relationship, establishing an effective
rapport and, crucially, acknowledging
the commitment shown by both
practitioners and participants is the
best way to achieve the mutual
understanding that is needed to join
the ‘research family.’
If you would like to take part in this event and organise
a display stand, please contact Amanda Jones, phone:
01905 760 223 or email: amanda.jones@worcsacute.nhs.uk
Readers’ Feedback
What do our Readers think about Participate?
The aim of Participate is to inform and enlighten health
professionals, academics and other interested parties about the
latest in primary care research throughout West Midlands South,
giving advance warning of future research opportunities and helping
study teams to reach the recruitment they need. In addition, many
participants are very interested in the results of studies undertaken
in previous years so we aim to offer feedback on these results on a
regular basis.
Every quarter over 700 copies of Participate are distributed to
our readership; it reaches every GP practice and most other health
centres throughout Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire
and Coventry, as well as academic institutions and study teams.
We asked our readers what they thought and share a selection
of their thoughts below:
“This is probably the best newsletter we receive!
I actually read it!”
“Great newsletter I would love to be on distribution
please and can you send me a hard copy too if you have
a few spare I would like to share as a good example.”
“Your Newsletter is very informative and easy to read.
It clearly highlights the points of interest and contents
on the front page.”
“One of the key features of PARTICIPATE is that it is
available in hard copy. This makes it more user-friendly
and it serves as an excellent tool for group discussions
with the public. It is very motivating for newcomers
who want to learn more about PCRN’s activities and
who may actively want to participate in new studies.”
“Thank you so much for sending us the hard copies of
the newsletter ‘PARTICIPATE’. The layout of the article
looks GREAT. I would really appreciate if you can send
me the e-link to access the newsletter. Is it possible for
you to send us some more hard copies as well please?”
Image courtesy of
Gualberto107 at
FreeDigitalPhotos.net
E-Participate
and Participate on-Line
In summer 2013 we launched our electronic version of Participate,
initially to 420 recipients. So far, results have been very positive,
showing a consistent level of interest running above what is
expected as industry average. Readership of E-Participate has
engendered a higher level of awareness of our primary care
website where more detailed information is available.
For further information, to browse current and past editions of
Participate, please go to our website at: www.warwick.ac.uk/go/PCRN
If you would like more information about primary care activity
within the West Midlands South area, please visit our website:
www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/med/research/hsri/primary_care
E-Participate Readership Levels
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Industry Avg.
Summer 2013
Autumn 2013
Winter 2013
Would you like to join the CRN: West Midlands team?
Opportunities are always arising for
research facilitators and research nurses
to join our enthusiastic and friendly team.
CRN: West Midlands is part of the
National Institute of Health Research
Clinical Research Network, funded by
the Department of Health.
We ensure patients and healthcare
professionals are able to participate in
high quality primary care research
across Herefordshire,Worcestershire,
Warwickshire and Coventry.
For further information on the roles
available please contact Pauline
Darbyshire, PCRN WM-S research nurse,
email: p.darbyshire@warwick.ac.uk or
Sue Elwell, PCRN WM-S research
manager, email: s.elwell@warwick.ac.uk
Page 11
CLRN / Governance
An Introduction to Patient and Public Involvement in Research
A workshop to support people who
would like to find out more about local
research and how to get involved – free
to all patients and public members and
NHS research staff across the West
Midlands (South) region which covers
Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire
and Worcestershire
Thursday 22nd May 2014
Date:
Time:
10.00am – 12.45pm
Venue:George Eliot Teaching
& Education Centre,
George Eliot Hospital
CV10 8DJ
Facilitator:Mohammed Shaikh,
PPI Officer
Aims
• Increase knowledge on patient and public involvement in the NHS
• Increase knowledge on patient and public involvement in clinical research
• Understand the process of getting involved in clinical research
• Understand the contribution patients and public members can offer to clinical
research and the CLRN
Expected Learning Outcomes
• Awareness on the research role and priority within the NHS
• Awareness of different research networks
• Identify the various methods of research
• Recognise the rationale of clinical research studies
• Identify ways of getting involved in local research studies/ CLRN
• Find out how to effectively contribute to research studies
For further information, or to request a booking form, please contact:
wmsouthclrn.academy@uhcw.nhs.uk
West Midlands (South) Comprehensive
Local Research Network Academy
for Research Active Professionals
Course Schedule: May – September 2014
A full course list and details on how to book can be found on the WM(S)
CLRN website at www.crncc.nihr.ac.uk/aboutus/ccrn/wmids-south/news/Training
Course Title
Date
Time
Location
Site File Management
20/05/2014
12:30-16:00
Worcester
GCP Refresher
21/05/2014
13:00-16:15
Worcester
Introduction to Patient Public
Involvement in Research
22/05/2014
09:50-12:45
George Eliot
Introduction to GCP
06/06/2014
08:45-15:45
George Eliot
Introduction to Research
Management & Governance
16/06/2014
09:00-12:00
George Eliot
GCP Refresher
30/06/2014
13:00-16:15
University Hospital Coventry
Introduction to GCP
16/07/2014
08:45-15:45
Warwick University Clinical Trials Unit
GCP Refresher
03/09/2014
09:00-12:15
University Hospital Coventry
Gaining Informed Consent
11/09/2014
09:30-13:00
University Hospital Coventry
Commercial Trials Workshop
11/09/2014
09:30-12:30
Worcester
Introduction to Research
Management & Governance
22/09/2014
09:00-12:00
University Hospital Coventry
Commercial Trials Workshop
25/09/2014
09:30-12:30
University Hospital Coventry
Introduction to GCP
29/09/2014
08:45-15:45
Wye Valley
New course dates are added on a regular basis.
For further information or to be added to the circulation list, please email wmsouthclrn.academy@uhcw.nhs.uk
Division of Health Sciences
Warwick Medical School
University of Warwick
Coventry, CV4 7AL
Page 12
Tel: 02476 575767
Email: j.oskiera@warwick.ac.uk
Web: www.crn.nihr.ac.uk/wmidlands
www.warwick.ac.uk/go/PCRN