A developing collaboration between the NIHR Alder Hey Clinical Research Facility (CRF) and Vauxhall Primary Health Care, Liverpool, has enabled families to get recruited to studies more rapidly, and closer to home.
Both sites are participating in the HARMONIE study, a phase 3 study of a monoclonal antibody to prevent severe RSV bronchiolitis in babies. The study has a limited time to recruit, as RSV bronchiolitis is a seasonal illness, and we are aware that it can be both difficult and stressful for families to bring young babies to hospital. It is therefore vital that there are choices for families that want to be included in studies like this that include recruitment and dosing in primary care. Dr Lewis, and the team at Vauxhall Health Centre are highly experienced researchers, and are now in close collaboration with Alder Hey CRF, with families offered the choice of site of recruitment.
Dr Hawcutt, Director of the NIHR Alder Hey CRF said “this is a very popular study, and we have a waiting list of several weeks for potential participants. We are really pleased to be able to offer families the option of more local, and more rapid inclusion into the study. We have been working together for several months now, and this is the start of a pipeline of studies that we hope to offer in conjunction with the team at Vauxhall, getting research beyond the walls of the hospital and into our local community”.
David Lewis, GP and active researcher at Vauxhall Practice said, “We are delighted to be working with Alder Hey on this study, and it is great to allow people to take part in the community, which saves them having to get to hospital. We hope this is the first of many research studies together”.