Teamwork helps south west site punch above its weight in commercial study recruitment
A compact team and good communication are the reasons a small Trust is making a big contribution to commercial trial recruitment, according to research staff.
Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is leading the UK and Europe in a number of recent studies, supported by the NIHR Clinical Research Network South West Peninsula (CRN SWP). The site has been an early recruiter to various commercially-sponsored international trials, with several first and second patients recruited in the UK, Europe and worldwide.
Clinical Research Nurses Alison Lewis and Dianne Wood gave their take on why the Trust has been so successful.
Dianne said: “I think that because we’re a small trust, we get to know the teams really well and that works in our favour. Although we have a smaller patient population, we can liaise with our PIs (Principal Investigators) really easily, we can stay in contact and get together at the best time.
“I definitely think having a smaller team is a good basis for getting the recruitment. If there’s something that somebody needs to do, there are only one or two people who can actually do it so the onus is more likely to be on a named person. Certainly in the study I was working on, the communication worked really well.”
Alison agreed that establishing those personal relationships is paramount. She said: “For me, getting to know the PI, Dr Rani Sophia and the team that works with her was key, and also the specialist nurses, getting them onside and looking out for patients for you is a boon.”
Dianne also praised Co-PIs Mr Ahmar Shah and Mrs Fatima Shah for successfully running a study during everything that has gone on in the last 18 months.
Alison continued: “COVID and not having people coming in to outpatient appointments in person had a huge impact. Some studies were set up to run virtually but obviously this was not possible in all cases, so we were dependent on patients being allowed back into hospital again.
“Commercial studies in general demand a lot more input from the patients. The patients really are key, and they do have to make more of a commitment in terms of visits, tests and assessments. However, they benefit by getting access to the newest treatment, and extra contact with clinical staff.”
Dianne added: “It’s really lovely to get to spend more time with the patients. Quite often, we’ll be able to give them a bit of a check over as well, in addition to whatever we are doing for the study.”
NIHR CRN SWP Business Development Operations Manager Bianca Mills credited the efforts of the Trust’s research team, which has enabled 118 patients to participate in commercial studies since 2019, for the strong recruitment.
She said: “I want to congratulate the Yeovil team on their success. Not only is their commercial performance back to pre-pandemic levels (Q1 ‘21-‘22 vs Q1 ‘19-‘20), but the team continue to go above and beyond to provide their patients with research opportunities.
“Yeovil’s commercial research has seen recruitment into a variety of specialities including Children’s, Dementia & Neurodegeneration, Dermatology, Gastroenterology and Surgery, and I look forward to seeing the team’s commercial portfolio grow even further.”
