Benefits of Being a Research Active Primary Care Site
Providing the opportunity for your patients to take part in research is Exciting, Interesting & Rewarding & is not as complicated or time consuming as you think!
Why Primary Care Research is Important to your Practice & your Patients
The UK’s NHS was founded on 5th July 1948. All patient care provided by the NHS is evidenced based, meaning research has been conducted to ensure diagnosis, treatment and care are effective and safe. There is a key focus within the NHS's Long Term Plan to utilise and invest in Research and Innovation to drive future clinical outcomes and improvements. The UK has made many significant contributions to medical science resulting in ground-breaking advances in patient care. The case studies in the timeline below present a selection of some of the UK’s most significant research contributions to the advancement of patient care since the inception of the NHS;
● 1940s Development of penicillin as a drug
● 1950s Smoking linked to lung cancer
● 1960s Discovery of the link between transplantation and immunology
● 1970s The invention of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
● 1980s The invention of DNA fingerprinting
● 1990s The first cloning of a mammal, Dolly the Sheep
● 2000s Brain cooling treatment for newborns starved of oxygen
● 2010s Gene therapy for Haemophilia
● 2020s Covid-19 vaccine development
FOR OUR PATIENTS
To improve health and advance patient care. and to find new drugs, vaccines, psychological therapies, physical therapies and more.
Patients who join research studies may be able to:
● Access new treatments / technologies
● Take a more active role in their own care
● Learn more about the condition they have
● Support medical research for a condition they care about e.g. Covid-19 research
FOR THE PRACTICE & PRACTICE TEAM
Research active organisations have better outcomes for patient care!
There is also evidence that research content in medical jobs enhances recruitment, retention and reduces burnout.
GPs and the practice team report benefiting from research involvement in many ways; peer and public recognition, status, curiosity, learning, contribution , meaning and purpose.
It is valued by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The have already identified research activity as a quality marker in secondary care, and some primary care CQC reports highlight the value of research to patients as a demonstrable commitment to quality improvement. The CQC now has a remit to assess how trusts are supporting and using clinical research to improve patient care.
NIHR CRN East Midlands has its own dedicated CRN Primary Care Research Team, who are equipped with the knowledge, experience and expertise required to provide personalised support to your site to assist you with everything research related. We also have a collective of both 'one off' and 'continuous' infrastructure support available , in the form of both financial funding and clinical support staff. To find out more in regards to the infrastructure support we can provide for your site, Click Here.
Statement from A GP at a Research Active Practice in the East Midlands;
Getting involved in research studies through the RSI scheme enables me to take part in the world of research without taking on the additional level of commitment needed to become an academic GP. I can work flexibly and fit the studies easily around my clinical work as a GP partner. I find it interesting and stimulating to get involved in something outside of the normal clinical workload and it adds an additional layer of meaning and purpose to my role. Patients who have been involved give really positive feedback to me and some studies directly improve their care enabling them to take advantage of developments not otherwise available to them through the NHS. Research can be a really fascinating part of any portfolio career. It’s very rewarding to see the benefits of research which can be enjoyed by many more patients than we would be able to help day to day in our surgeries.