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 RDN (National Institute for Health Research Research Development 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.
INTERACT STUDY - Loneliness and social isolation
We are supporting this study run by Imperial College London Department of Primary Care & Public Health is conducting a study to investigate the prevalence of social isolation & loneliness in the community setting. The questionnaire should not take you more than 5 minutes to complete & all your responses will be pseudo-anonymous. For more information, please refer to the Patient Information Sheet. The surgery will be sending out texts to patients with a link to the survey if they would like to complete it. This is completely voluntary, so if you are not interested please ignore the text.
COAT STUDY - what is the best way to treat cellulitis?
This study is looking to recruit adults with painful lower leg cellulitis and is looking to establish whether 5 or 7 days of antibiotics are most effective in terms of treatment. If you are seen with this condition one of our clinicians may mention this study to you. Research studies are always voluntary and whether you choose to participate or not will not your impair your care in anyway. See further information about the COAT study.
ECRAID - PRIME STUDY
This study is running during Nov 2024 and Mar 2025 and aims to find new medical products to treat respiratory infections. So you may find at an appointment our clinicans highlight the opportunity to join this study if you have symptoms suggestive of a cold, flu, Covid-19 or covid-19 like illness that started within the last 3 days. Patients 18yrs and over who are eligible, and choose to be part of the study, will be contributing to the fight against respiratory illnesses. See further information about the ECRIAD study.
ULTRASOUND changes in hand osteoarthritis
This is a new study to investigate the distribution of ultrasound detected features of hand Osteoarthritis and association with hand Osteoarthritis phenotypes and finger nodes. Honiton Surgery is sending texts out to patients who meet the criteria for the study on behalf of researchers, to see if any patients would be interested in getting hand joints scanned using ultrasound for osteoarthritis research. This study is conducted at the Health & Care Professions Department, St. Luke's Campus, University of Exeter. Participants will be invited for a single study visit that will last 1.5hrs. Assessments will include clinical, xray and ultrasound assessments as well as completion of self reported questionnaires.
If you are interested in participating, please contact the study coordinator via email at: USChangesinHandOA@exeter.ac.uk or phone/text at 07779117904. Please note that there is no clinical benefit to taking part in this research.
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.
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.
See further information about the IID3 study
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. See further information about ICCD.
