Colleagues from across Wessex come together to hear the latest in Primary Care research

The CRN Wessex annual Primary Care Research Forum took place earlier this month. Primary Care colleagues from across the region came together to hear the latest news and updates.

Delegates included GPs, research nurses, pharmacists, practice managers, trial managers, clinical trial assistants and research leads from research-active primary care sites, along with CRN staff from clinical delivery and study support teams. Presentations covered regional and national updates, a practical session on EDGE software, workforce training updates, and overviews of the PARC, COAT and AFLOAT studies. There was also the opportunity to celebrate Wessex primary care highlights and achievements from over the last few years.

A panel discussion about the barriers and facilitators to recruiting to research studies in Primary Care encouraged discussions and highlighted some great initiatives taking place to increase participation in research.

Helen Wheeler, Senior Research Nurse at CRN Wessex, and who helped organise the event, comments: “The forum provided a great opportunity for primary care colleagues from across the region to come together – to hear the latest news and updates as well as take time for valuable networking. We were really keen to make sure the event was shaped by those attending and so made sure we included content suggested by delegates.”

Kerry Gunner, Research Nurse at CRN Wessex, who also helped organise the day, adds: “There was great energy on the day and positive feedback from delegates which demonstrates how important these events are. It's vital to bring together all those taking an active role in primary care research to share their valuable knowledge and ideas so we can learn from each other and continue to grow this area of research in the best way possible. There is some fantastic work being delivered by primary care sites in our region and it was good to recognise this.” 

Primary Care has recruited among the largest number of participants in Wessex of any specialty over the last decade with over 80,000 people taking part. Primary Care played a pivotal role in the fight against Covid with both the Panoramic and Principle studies being the largest ever recruited to in a primary care setting and with practices across Wessex contributing significantly.