Researcher praises CRN South London funding programme
CRN South London’s short-term contingency funding programme supports health and care research. Contingency funding is time-limited and must deliver clear outcomes for the research.
The funding was used for two dietitians to support recruitment to the PHOSPHATE trial at St Helier Hospital. The renal research team trained both dietitians who were not previously involved in research delivery.
The PHOSPHATE trial is examining whether lowering blood phosphate levels with binders makes any difference in improving the health of kidney dialysis patients. Researchers want to see if doing this keeps the heart and blood vessels healthy, helps people feel better, or improves quality of life.
Dr Pauline Swift is a Consultant Nephrologist. Dr Swift works at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. She is also a Principal Investigator for the PHOSPHATE study. Dr Swift said:
“This funding programme is vital for NHS organisations to deliver research. The finance helps, especially where there are barriers to overcome. Recruitment to the trial has picked up at St Helier Hospital and across south-west London and Surrey. We have had a lot of enthusiasm for our approach.
“We applied for funding for two dietitians. The dietitians recruit suitable patients for the trial. The dietitians also help to maintain higher or lower ranges of blood phosphate for patients. These interventions have a greater chance of success with the dietitians as part of the team.
“My message to researchers is to look to the CRN to support research in various health and care settings.”
Email crnsouthlondon@nihr.ac.uk if you’d like to find out more.
