We are now a research active surgery

We recently signed up to a research scheme run by the Primary Care Clinical Research Network (CRN) and have started working with them to support the delivery of health research across the Thames Valley & South Midlands region. The Primary Care CRN are part of the research side of the NHS and are committed to providing high-quality clinical research in the NHS, so patients can benefit from new and improved treatments and services. All clinical research carried out at our surgery is thoroughly checked and approved by ethical committees ensuring it is appropriate and safe to perform.

We will be supporting a wide range of primary care research including studies which look at:

• Promoting a healthier lifestyle
• Disease diagnosis and prevention
• Management of long-term illness such as asthma and hypertension
• Treating common conditions such as tonsillitis or influenza

If we find you may be suitable for any of the studies we get involved in you may receive an invite for that study. Please be assured all invitations to studies come from us and nobody from outside the practice will be given your contact details or have access to your medical records without your prior consent. Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you can withdraw without explanation at any time. If you choose not to take part in research your care will not be affected in any way.

However, by choosing to take part in research you will:

• Have the chance to participate in new and innovative research
• Help improve patient care and treatment within the NHS
• Learn something about you and your condition
• Give something back and help future generations

Studies we are currently participating in:

• DEFINE – The DEFINE study is looking for people aged 12 years and over who have their asthma reviewed here at the GP surgery. The aim of the study is to find out whether the FeNO test (blowing out into a mouthpiece in one long, slow breath) can help improve care for asthma patients and reduce costs to the NHS.
• Dare2Think – The aim of the study is to improve the care of patients under 75 years old with atrial fibrillation, to see if newer blood thinning tablets can prevent serious long-term complications if used earlier.
• T2T – The aim of the study is to determine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of treat-to-target urate lowering therapy (ULT) in people with recurrent gout flares compared to usual GP care. The study will involve the use of licenced urate lowering drugs and medicines that are recommended to be used for gout flare prevention.

If you are interested in finding out more about our research programme, please feel free to email us: bobicb-bw.nrpcn.research@nhs.net.