REMEDY team recognised for helping more than 3,500 patients access innovative new treatments
More than 3,500 patients have benefitted from a number of research trials and studies thanks to the commitment of a team of clinicians based in the Emergency Departments at our Royal Derby Hospital and Queen's Hospital Burton.
The REMEDY (Research in Emergency Medicine in Derby) team provides opportunities to patients receiving care in our Emergency Departments to take part in research trials, in a wide range of areas including sepsis, trauma, cardiology, respiratory and paediatrics.
Since the team was first formed in 2017 in Derby, it has developed and grown and now covers our two acute hospital sites, providing support to colleagues and patients every day of the week to allow them to be better informed about the benefits of being involved in research. The team has also recruited the highest number of patients to two national trials, further highlighting their success.
Such has been the success of the team's work, colleagues have been shortlisted for the CRN East Midlands Research Award in the Outstanding Achievement by a Team Award at the National Institute for Health and Care Research's (NIHR) East Midlands Clinical Research Network Awards.
Dr Andrew Tabner, Emergency Medicine Consultant, spoke of his pride in the team's work and their shortlisting, explaining that it emphasises the Trust's commitment to improving patient care through research.
He said: "It's a very nice thing to be recognised for our work and is a proud moment for the whole team. Not only that, but it also helps to further establish UHDB regionally and nationally as providing good access to research and using this to enhance the care our patients receive."
The REMEDY team is made up of eight colleagues from a variety of professional backgrounds and with a range of experience working in both emergency medicine and research. This has allowed the team to seamlessly slot into our emergency departments in Derby and Burton, which Andrew believes has been essential to enable the collaborative working required for the effective delivery of emergency medicine research.
Andrew continued: "We are fully integrated with our clinical colleagues on the 'shop floor' every day of the week, meaning we've built up really strong relationships with them and are readily available to offer assistance with any research-related enquiries.
"Our team live-screens patients in the departments, so we're not solely relying on the team in ED to identify patients for us, we're proactively seeking patients out. Our emergency departments are very busy, so we get a lot of patients through our doors every day. This is a wonderful opportunity to enhance our research and continue to provide benefits to patients simultaneously."
The team has seen huge success both in terms of collaboration with colleagues, as well as with helping patients to access innovative treatments through research, recruiting the highest number of patients to two research projects.
The PRONTO study (PROcalcitonin and NEWS2 evaluation for Timely identification of sepsis and Optimal use of antibiotics in the emergency department), aimed to help identify patients who are suffering with suspected sepsis faster by using a simple test which returns results within 20 minutes, allowing them to receive the right care at the right time whilst reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics.
More than 1,700 patients have been able to take part in this national study at the Derby and Burton sites thanks to the involvement of the REMEDY team.
In addition, the team has also been able to recruit highs of 678 participants in a national study named DASHED (standing for Diagnosis of Acute Aortic Syndrome [AAS] in the Emergency Department). AAS is a condition affecting the aorta, the main vessel that carries blood from the heart around the body, and delayed recognition of a problem can lead to preventable deaths. The study aims to find out how effective current methods of diagnosing the condition are, gathering data alongside whether patients were sent for CT scans to help better inform treatment and diagnosis of AAS in the future.
Dr Graham Johnson, Emergency Medicine Consultant who is also part of the REMEDY team, said being able to give so many patients access to research is vital to improving care in the future, and said the support of everyone in the department has made their achievements possible:
"We know that research-active organisations have better outcomes than those who aren't involved in research, so the successes we've enjoyed as a team will help to keep providing new, innovative treatments that help our patients to receive the best care possible in our hospitals.
"On the whole, patients are very receptive to being asked to be involved in research trials as it opens up opportunities for them to receive different treatments, as well as giving them an option that perhaps hasn't always been made available to them.
"We've had really good support from everyone in research and ED in terms of providing staff secondments to aid both the team and staff development, as well as supporting us in the work we're doing, so we're really grateful for that."
Since winning the CRN Rising Star Award in 2018, the team has gone on to enjoy further successes, including expanding their cover in our hospitals from 2019 onwards, and being shortlisted for the Future UHDB Award at our Annual Making a Difference Awards last year.
However, the team is keen to continue to expand and support more patients in accessing research-driven care and help the Trust on its way to delivering Exceptional Care Together to our communities across Derbyshire and Staffordshire.
Graham continued: "We are also supporting studies in collaboration with a number of other teams across the Trust in areas such as intensive care, stroke, renal (kidney care) and trauma and orthopaedics. There are so many opportunities for us to help patients benefit from being involved in research and we're really keen to facilitate that wherever possible.
"As a team, we're ambitious and we have plans to widen our service further in the future and continue to make improvements to the services we offer to continue to put research at the forefront of developing care for the patients of tomorrow."
The CRN East Midlands Research Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday 6 March at Kilworth House Hotel, Leicestershire.