Clinical research boost for Cromer
A project to bring clinical research studies to the population of North Norfolk aims to improve healthcare services for the rural community.
The project at Cromer Hospital, supported by a £100,000 grant from the N&N Hospitals Charity, has established clinical research studies relevant to the North Norfolk population, with the charity funding a Research Project Manager, responsible for training local staff and coordinating a portfolio of multi-specialty research studies.
Additional grant funding from the East of England Research Regional Delivery Network has accelerated the research training program for local staff—a key step toward bringing research closer to the rural population of North Norfolk.
Four nurses have now been trained in Good Clinical Practice and Informed Consent, with two progressing further, completing study-specific training, allowing them to actively recruit patients as research participants.
Cromer nurse Christine Neate, who has worked on the Palliative Care and Oncology Survey on Terminology study, said: “I have been fortunate to be involved in research at Cromer Hospital. As a registered nurse, this is a new activity for me, and the learning curve has been invaluable.
“I have been involved in palliative and oncology care research—areas of nursing that are new to me—where I have had to learn about the types of cancer treatments available to patients. North Norfolk tends to have an older population, and I believe that by approaching potential participants directly, they feel included and willing to contribute to research, for which I am very grateful.”
Cromer represents a new area of expansion for the NIHR Norfolk Clinical Research Facility and aims to significantly impact local research awareness and improve access to better healthcare outcomes.