Wirral University Teaching Hospital wins Research Award in collaboration with Marine Lake Medical Practice

Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) has won a North West Coast Research and Innovation Award with primary care partner, Marine Lake Medical Practice. This is the first collaboration locally on the Wirral, between primary and secondary care, to deliver research.

The award was given in the ‘Research Collaboration of the Year’ category for the HARMONIE Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Vaccine Study. This research study is looking at how babies can be protected from serious illness due to RSV infection by giving them a single dose of antibodies. For most people, RSV infection causes a mild respiratory illness but it can be more serious for a small number of patients.

As part of the study, WUTH provided clinical space in the Children’s Outpatients Department, as well as clinical support from its Pharmacy and Paediatrics Departments and Research Nurse support. The Research and Innovation Team supported the study by acting as a Participant Identification Centre and sharing study information with potential patients. By working together, Marine Lake Medical Practice and the Trust were able to deliver fast, effective and successful recruitment to the study.

WUTH has a dedicated Research and Innovation Team who support staff to set-up and run research studies into a wide variety of areas, which have been identified as having the potential to make a positive impact on patient outcomes. The team also engages with the public to recruit participants to these studies. The more people that are recruited, the more accurate the findings will be. During the COVID-19 pandemic WUTH was one of the most successful recruitment sites for the Recovery Trial, one of 10 urgent public health studies that led to novel, life-saving treatments for COVID-19.

Over the last five years, an average of 70 studies each year have been co-ordinated by WUTH’s Research Department and delivered by its teams of Local Principal Investigators (PIs), Research Nurses, Research Midwife, Research Coordinator and Data Coordinator, Pharmacists, Laboratory and other clinical support staff.

Professor Simon Rogers, WUTH Clinical Lead for Research, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award with Marine Lake Medical Practice. The collaboration has resulted in high numbers recruited to this important study and we know that this will ultimately deliver huge benefits to patients. We hope to build on this success and carry out even more collaborative studies in the future.

Janelle Holmes, WUTH Chief Executive Officer, said: “Research is an important part of WUTH’s strategy to provide leading healthcare to the local population. Hospitals who are research-active have better health outcomes, by offering a wider range of treatment options and more opportunities to be included in clinical trials.

“This Award is a welcome acknowledgement of the hard work of the WUTH Research and Innovation Team and all the clinical staff involved in research. I’d like to say a big thank you to all of the staff involved in this fantastic achievement.”

Pictured above (left to right) Mandy Williams, Research Nurse, North West Coast Clinical Research Network; Fiona Brailsford, WUTH Research and Innovation Manager; Dr Simon Perry, Marine Lake Medical Practice; Anne Crutchley, Research Nurse, Marine Lake Medical Practice

Pictured above (left to right): WUTH - Prof Simon Rogers, Clinical Lead for Research and Innovation, Fiona Brailsford, Research and Innovation Manager; Dr Ranj Mehra, Deputy Medical Director

Link here for more information on RSV.
Link here for more information on the awards.