Health board restarts research studies

More than 1,000 research and innovation studies are currently underway across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Throughout the pandemic, NHSGGC which covers

Renfrewshire - has played a crucial role in recruiting suitable patients for various Covid-19 vaccine and treatment studies. This includes the Recovery and Remap Cap studies, which specifically look at improving mortality rates and severe sickness rates from Covid-19.

While Covid-19 recovery continues, the health board has also been able to restart 1,100 of its paused research studies while starting 300 new studies, involving 499 principal investigators and with over 8,000 recruited patients, which is on par with prepandemic activity.

Professor Julie Brittenden, NHSGGC director of research and innovation, said: “Throughout the pandemic, in what has been a hugely challenging time, NHSGGC’s Research and Innovation teams have embraced change, continued to innovate and strive to improve available treatments and increased the use of technology in order to enhance the care for patients.

“In 2022, while we continue to deliver our covid recovery plan, we will look to build on the momentum for change across research and innovation to make the NHS the country’s most powerful driver of innovation which will help improve the lives of patients and the public.”

The wide range of studies and projects supported by NHSGGC’s Research and Innovation teams are helping to improve the experiences of patients, while reducing waiting times and time spent in hospital.

The West of Scotland Innovation Hub is collaborating with academia and industry on a further 57 innovation projects, with a cumulative value of £93million.