Research & Delivery Team Swansea Bay UHB

The small team of Research Nurses, Research Officers and Research Assistants based across Swansea Bay University Health Board worked together to support clinical teams with Clinical Research Trials. During the pandemic, they focussed on Urgent Public Health trials as a priority, with the evidence from these trials ultimately shaping the advice provided by the JVCI to UK governments.

The team adapted to the rapid pace of change (including being displaced from their Singleton premises, staff redeployments and working with clinical teams naïve to the research process) to ensure that research continued during such a pressured time for health boards. Their studies provided an evidence base for the discovery of new treatment options, which increased the survival rate of Covid-19 patients as a result.

Additional treatment options were made available for patients via their participation in various research trials – such as the RECOVERY, REMAP-¬CAP and SPRINTER trials and some of these treatments have since become standard of care. They also contributed to the GenOMICC trial, which provided important genetic evidence – identifying the increased risk to BAME members of the population early on in the pandemic (Swansea Bay was amongst the top 3 recruiting sites in UK for this study!).

The dedication of the team made a significant contribution to the health and care of citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic, with some excellent results, and the support they have consistently demonstrated towards each other has been exemplary.