Research & Development Open Day

The Trust’s annual Research & Development Open Day was held on 24 June with more than 200 visitors taking part.

The focus for the day was how research improves the care patients receive. Visitors had the chance to find out about the important work undertaken within the hospital for the benefit of patients in hospital, in the community and in the developing world.

Researchers were available to answer questions about their research and used a variety of interactive displays including fitness testing, checking moles and different types of blood sugar monitoring equipment to explain their work.

Trust staff also demonstrated ongoing areas of research they were involved in which include sexual health clinics for young people, exercise classes for patients with heart conditions and the discovery of a possible reason why some people get melanoma, a form of skin cancer, when exposed to excessive ultraviolet light from the sun.

Chief Executive, Heather Lawrence said: “As an NHS Foundation Trust achieving excellence is central to our ethos. This involves excellence in teaching and research, one of our three key objectives for 2009.

“We hope that by bringing patients and members of the community together with staff we can encourage involvement in research and ensure our research is focused and relevant to the needs of patients.”

Research and Development Open Day 2010

The Research Department wants to set up a new group with members of the public and researchers. The group will review projects submitted for inclusion in next year’s Open Day and decide which should be profiled. This is an exciting opportunity to work with researchers and shape the way research is presented.

CLAHRC: Accelerating research into better care

In an attempt to combine patients’ needs with relevant areas of medical research the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) has been launched as the first government funded research programme of its kind in this country.

CLAHRC for Northwest London is led by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Imperial College London and works with partners across North West London including NHS hospitals, primary care trusts and community services along with the Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity, London Ambulance Service and NHS Direct.

CLAHRC supports a number of the aims of the R&D Open Day including accelerating research into better care and delivering improvements that will produce benefits to patient care within 18 months to two years.

Last year’s R&D Open Day celebrated the successful application for a £20 million bid from the NHS Institute of Health Research to develop the Northwest London CLAHRC, led by the Trust’s Director of Research and Development Professor Derek Bell, and supported by a team of academics and clinicians from a diverse range of backgrounds including healthcare management.

Professor Bell said: “CLAHRC brings together researchers, clinicians and the public to support projects across North West London that aim to improve patient care.

“There are currently five CLAHRC projects underway across nine sites. Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is hosting three of these projects relating to medication safety, HIV testing (both demonstrated at this year’s research open day), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.”