Local people are being asked to help improve the healthcare of the future by participating in local trials, as part of International Clinical Trials Day (20th May 2018).
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital and community health services across Stockport, is a key patient research site in Greater Manchester. Its research team oversees studies involving around a thousand local patients each year in areas such as cancer, stroke, heart disease, surgery, childbirth and children; often seeing how effective drugs or treatments can be.
The research team recently took part in a research project looking at the effectiveness of immunising teenagers against Meningitis B to reduce the spread of this potentially deadly bacteria. They vaccinated over 1200 teenagers during the study, making them the top vaccination team in the country for the study.
The research team is now on the lookout for patient ‘research champions’, helping to improve and save the lives of others in the future.
One volunteer ‘research champion’ ’is Sarah Shatwell, 23, from Bredbury in Stockport. Sarah was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes aged 11 and joined in research studies when she was 15. Now nine years later, she is still keen to help. The latest study she is participating in is on the effect of diabetes drugs on the kidneys.
Sarah said, “I volunteer on research studies to help other people with my condition, and also to help raise awareness about it. “It doesn’t take much time, and it’s an easy way to help other people with diabetes.”
Another research volunteer is Graham Meakin, 62, from Marple in Stockport. Graham had a heart attack in 2015, followed by another in 2017. He was asked to take part in the trial of a new drug which aims to improve cardiovascular health.
Graham was happy to take part and said,“Stepping Hill Hospital and the NHS saved my life and I was more than happy to help them in return.
“With all the pills I need to take, I thought someone has tested these before me. So it’s my duty to help others, not just of my generation, but the generations to come.
“The staff at Stepping Hill Hospital have done brilliantly by me, so I wanted to do my bit to help them to help others in the future.”
The Stockport research team is currently expanding its research studies in areas such as critical care, dental health, haematology, stroke and urology, and are always looking for new volunteers. To get involved e-mail research.development@stockport.nhs.uk