University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust has launched a new initiative, utilising mobile research units (MRUs) to bring health research into the community…

The first of its kind for the South West, the MRUs are the result of a successful bid for £33,000 funding from the Covid-19 Vaccine Taskforce.

The initial idea for the MRUs came from a survey undertaken by the Research and Development team prior to the pandemic. 97% of respondents said that they would be more likely to take part in a research study if it were in their locality and they did not have to travel to the hospital site to take part.

The aim of the MRUs is to bring research opportunities to the wider population, to improve patient care, to support the growth and delivery of research within the primary care setting, to help address the healthcare needs of the people of Plymouth and to help to reduce the reliance on and need to access services at Derriford hospital. They also have the added benefit of supporting a reduction in the carbon footprint by taking the clinic to the patient.

“This is really good news for the people of Plymouth and the local population,” explains Dr Gary Minto, Medical Director of Research and Development at UHP. “For many years, our main strategy has been to reflect the needs of the local population, as well as transformation in healthcare delivery. So, we have had the will to do it and now we have the vehicles to do it as a team.

“Recent studies have shown that there is clearly an inequality of access to healthcare research in UK, and we know that in Plymouth many are unable to travel up to the hospital to participate. Bringing research to participants will thus not only increase our engagement, but it will also open up opportunities to those who have not taken part before, as we begin to tackle this inequality.”

Now that a mobile research team has been established, the first MRU is carrying out public engagement activities, with the intention to soon utilise the vans to carry out visits to those who are already in a study.

“We have already begun to meet with primary care partners and GPs to discuss how we can work alongside the integrated care pathway to deliver research activities in Plymouth and the surrounding rural areas,” said Gary. “Our goal is to work in partnership with locality partners to provide access to research for a much wider catchment of participants. We are also engaging with local involvement groups, to learn how best to do this. It is a really exciting time.”

To find out more about research and development at University Hospitals Plymouth, please visit: www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/research