TRAINING AND RESEARCH

Research

Medical research has been conducted at the Honiton Surgery for over 20 years. We have a small research team led by Dr Danny Murphy.

The team receive details of research studies approved by the NHS and decide which studies are feasible and appropriate to be carried out at Honiton. These studies cover all aspects of health care including diabetes care, early diagnosis of cancer, assessing dressings and wound care, post flu vaccine surveillance and assessment of new medicines.

All the studies have been assessed by the NHS and have full ethical approval. The surgery receives funding for research from the South West Peninsula Clinical Research Network (part of the NHS) and from the individual studies that we take part in. The research team undergo regular training in taking informed consent from patients taking part in studies and the surgery has Royal College of GPs Research Ready accreditation.

The surgery research team assess study design, discuss practical issues of running a study at the surgery and liaise with the Patient Participation team at the Clinical Research Network.

The surgery believes that medical research is important for many reasons. Research studies help to answer specific questions about health and health care. The design of a study reflects the question(s) that it is seeking to answer. For example, studies can explore:

• Whether or not new treatments or ways of organising services are effective (do they work?)
• Whether or not those treatments or services are cost-effective (do they give value for money?)
• how different health problems develop and progress over time
• the views of patients and health professionals about a particular treatment, intervention or service and how they might be improved

For further information about research at the surgery please see below.

Current Research Trials & Studies

CLINICAL RESEARCH NETWORK SOUTH WEST PENINSULA 

We're excited to share news of our partnership with seasoned NIHR CRN (National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network) experts, seamlessly integrated into our practice team. In the pursuit of advancing medical research, these professionals, alongside our practice team, may access your patient record for pre-consented activities. This involves identifying potential eligibility for research opportunities and supporting recruitment and follow-up for clinical trials. This process operates under the lawful bases of Article 6 (public task) and Article 9 (substantial public interest) of the GDPR. Be assured, that your privacy and data security are rigorously safeguarded. This collaboration also supports NIHR and NHS's pursuit in improving equality to access research. Any eligible individuals will be contacted by the practice, and their consent will be requested before any further processing takes place. 

TRIUMPH OUTCOMES STUDY

This is a clinical research study for people with excess weight who also have heart disease or kidney disease or both. 

The study will test if the investigational medicine (a medicine being studied) may help reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events and the decline in kidney function in people with heart and / or kidney disease and a BMI greater than 27. Click here for further information about the study or call the study team on 01823 342700.  This study is being managed by Musgrove Hospital, Taunton and will require some in-person visits to the hospital, travel expenses are offered for this. We will be sending texts to patients who may fit the criteria with the contact number for the study team at Musgrove Hospital to call for further information if they are interested in being considered for the study.

RELIEF TRIAL

The RELIEF trial is looking at whether a combined inhaler is better for treating mild asthma symptoms. Approximately 10% of UK adults have 'mild' asthma symptoms requiring a reliever (blue inhaler) for symptoms with or without a low dose-inhaled steroid treatment. The Global initiative for Asthma (world wide recommendations) suggest replacing the first choice standard blue inhaler for asthma patients with a combination inhaler containing both reliever and preventer medicine. So the study aims to determine:

• How effective a combination inhaler might be versus standard care for symptom relief in mild asthma
• Overall costs and savings of the two treatments
• Healthcare providers and patients views of the new way to treat mild asthma

We will be sending texts and emails out to patients who may fall into the category of 'mild' asthma to ask if they may be interested in taking part. This is completely a patient choice and will not affect your ongoing care in anyway if you decline. If you are interested to take part just respond 'Yes' to the questionnaire we send out and our Research Nurse will follow up with you in late May / June. If we have a large number of people responding we may need to choose a selection of patients interested at random.

Further information can be found here and a video can be found here

REDEFINE 3

Volunteers needed for research into a new medicine to treat obesity.

Researchers at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are trialling a new medicine that may treat obesity while also improving diseases of the heart and blood vessels – and volunteers are needed. The study is being delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Patient Recruitment Centre (PRC): Exeter, which is hosted by the RDUH Hospital.

The study, REDEFINE 3, is looking at a combination of two medicines called cagrilinitide and semaglutide (CagriSema), which have been shown in previous clinical trials to help people lose weight. REDEFINE 3 is needed to help us understand how effective CagriSema is for reducing cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and stroke.

You may be eligible to take part in the study if:

• You have had a stroke, a heart attack (myocardial infarction), or have poor circulation (peripheral arterial disease, or PAD)

• You are 55 years of age or older

• You are living with obesity (BMI over 25)

For more information, visit the study website or contact the study team:  01392 406289 rduh.prcexeter@nhs.net

VICTORION-1 

The Victorion-1 PREVENT study will assess if an investigational medication can prevent cardiovascular events (such as heart attacks, strokes, procedures to improve blood flow, and death) in the future by lowering LDL cholesterol in the blood. People may be eleigible for this study if:

Aged 40 - 79yrs of age, have high LDL cholesterol levels, have not experienced a major cardiovascular event and are at high risk for a major cardiovascular event in the future.

We will be sending texts out to patients who MAY be eligible to see if they are interesting in joining the study. More information can be found from calling 01392 406289 or emailing rduh.prcexeter@nhs.net. Or here.

RSC Virology Swabs

If you or a member of your family have had a flu-like illness or a respiratory infection within the last 10 days you may be able to help monitor the spread of respiratory viruses. 

Every year, there are a range of respiratory viruses circulating across communities. The Oxford-Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research & Surveillance Centre (RSC) have been monitoring the spread of the respiratory viruses with swabs for over 50 years, tracking new viruses as they appear. We look at the spread of respiratory viruses across the country every week to inform public health policy and use the information to help understand the effectiveness of vaccines against those viruses. Please see the RSC's Patient Virology Poster for more information.

PRINCIPLE Research Study

The PRINCIPLE trial aims to find treatments that reduce hospital admission and improve symptoms for people with COVID-19. You could be eligible to join if:

• You are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days or less
• AND: You have had a positive test for COVID-19 in the last 14 days
• AND: You are aged 18 or over

Please see the PRINCIPLE Research Study website to find out more.

Please call the Trial Team if you have any questions or do not have access to online systems: 0800 138 0880

Duration Trial

A trial to find out the shortest time someone can have an antibiotic when they have a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) and still treat that condition effectively. People who are over 18yrs and present to the GP with UTI symptoms may be eligible to be part of the study. More information can be found on the  trial study website

IID3 Study - Gut Health in the UK

Honiton Surgery is promoting the Third Infectious Intestinal Disease Study (iid3), a big study about the gut health of the nation.

What is the study looking for? iid3 is all about finding out how often people get diarrhoea and vomiting, and which germs are causing it. The study team will use the results to find better ways of preventing infections. You don’t need to be ill to take part in iid3. People who don’t suffer from stomach bugs are needed as well as those who do.

Whats involved? You will need to use the link sent via the text message from the surgery about the study. If you choose to take part the study team will ask you a few questions about yourself at the start of the study. Then, all you need to do is keep in touch online with them once a week for 12 months (Weekly Follow-up Study). If you forget, it doesn’t matter they will contact you to remind you. In all, they will need no more than about 10 minutes of your time each week. If you have diarrhoea and vomiting you will be asked to arrange collection of a sample kit from the surgery for the study team to test.

More information can be found here

Binge Eating Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa Study

This study is to map out current practices in primary care in relation to the identification and management of Binge Eating Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa. Anyone suffering with symptoms of Binge Eating Disorder and/or Bulimia Nervosa and is above the age of 16.

There are a couple of ways to get involved - a five minute on line survey, click here for the survey and more information can be found here OR  an online focus group or interview that is 1 - 2hrs long click here with more information found here. This study is recruiting until Dec 2024.

Improving Clinical Care in Diabetes (ICCD)

This study aims to find out why diabetes, and its associated complications, progress quickly in some patients and much slower in others. Taking part will involve some questions about you and your diabetes. Take part by email, phone, in person or via post. For more information call the study team on 01392 408181 or email rdug.ResearchReferrals@nhs.net. You can also click here for more information.