Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust announces record year for recruitment to clinical trials
Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is celebrating its best year ever following the recruitment of a record number of patients to its clinical trials.
Over 7,600 women, men and children have been recruited to 190 studies over the last year at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, beating its target of 5,050 and ranking it second in regional recruitment.
Proud to be the top recruiter in the West Midlands to the 100,000 Genomes project, the Trust’s Research and Development team enlisted the support of over 2,000 patients from across the Women’s and Children’s Hospitals during the three year recruitment period.
Over the last 12 months, the Children’s Hospital became the second highest centre in recruiting 760 children and young people to the Sedation and Weaning in Children Requiring Invasive Mechanical Ventilation (SANDWICH) trial. This was a study that looks at increased nurse involvement and better management of ventilation and sedation in the intensive care setting.
The Birmingham and Solihull United Maternity Partnership (BUMP) successfully recruited 800 women to a survey which looked to better understand how many pregnant women monitor their own blood pressure at home. As a result of this, the Women’s Hospital was one of the top recruiting sites in the country.
The Forward Thinking Birmingham mental health team also recruited 29 young people and young adults to a PPiP trial, an observational study looking at antibodies in patients with psychosis symptoms.
Research & Development Director at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Clinical Director for the West Midlands Clinical Research Network, Professor Jeremy Kirk, said:
“This is has been a brilliant year and we have far exceeded our own expectations by recruiting an additional 2,550 women, men and children above our own ambitious plan. Recruitment to research is never easy so this is an incredible achievement for the Research & Development team - working across the Women’s and Children’s Hospitals and Forward Thinking Birmingham – especially when you consider our patient numbers, in comparison to other Trusts.”
Research & Development Director at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, Professor Andy Ewer, added:
“While numbers are a great indicator of how we are doing, the key to the success of these 190 trials is our patients, because they are the ones who are shaping the care and treatment in the future. A huge thank you to the women, men and children who have actively participated in our clinical trials and our dedicated staff who are so fully invested in the benefits of research.”
In the West Midlands region, a total of 73,920 patients have been enrolled on clinical trials over the last record-breaking year.