Science funding is on the verge of getting a right good hammering in the US. From afar it looks like the policy equivalent of the storms and twisters that each year cut a swathe along tornado alley running through the Mid-West. If you were watching on weather radar, this frightening picture would look like a … Continue reading Science must ‘get real’ not build high-altars in this spending review
medical research
Blog: Alzheimer’s should be more than a footnote in Mrs Thatcher’s story #Thatcher
Alzheimer's disease is getting a reputation for its merciless pursuit of the political elite of the 70s and 80s. Think Harold Wilson, Ronald Reagan and now Mrs Thatcher. One hopes that some good may come of it; a doubling of the efforts to find a cure would be a most suitable legacy. Of their passing from this … Continue reading Blog: Alzheimer’s should be more than a footnote in Mrs Thatcher’s story #Thatcher
Music Exposure Study: Please take this quick test + help us learn how music affects l/term hearing
Not often that I do this but this important 'Music Exposure Study' study is looking for thousands of volunteers and I thought I would help....Please take part and also retweet. You may have seen this hearing impairment study announced earlier last year. Researcher, Rob Mackinnon, based at the NIHR Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit is … Continue reading Music Exposure Study: Please take this quick test + help us learn how music affects l/term hearing
Our NHS: If there is a patient on board could they please make themselves known to the cabin crew
The NHS would appear to be suffering an in-flight emergency. It is locked on auto-pilot. The cabin crew are unsure what to do. A few are close to panic. The nature of the problem is unclear. The causes indeterminate. No one was trained for this. Cabin crew announcements become more insistent and louder by the … Continue reading Our NHS: If there is a patient on board could they please make themselves known to the cabin crew
Turning ‘red for research:’ staff show their true colours
This deserves a wider audience. During my visit to Nottingham yesterday I met some of the staff from the Medicines for Children Research Network (MCRN) in the East. They have recently adopted a new 'red for research' uniform that all staff have to wear in clinical areas. You can read more about it in their … Continue reading Turning ‘red for research:’ staff show their true colours
A poem about research to mark World Poetry Day
Spoke at the Trent Clinical Local Research Network (CLRN) 'life sciences' conference this morning. What a nice bunch of people. It being World Poetry Day I read out the following poem about being a patient in research: If we work together We can do it better This thing called research. This endeavour. So here I … Continue reading A poem about research to mark World Poetry Day
A budget for citizens in health research; join an Innovation Gym today and the RI is saved
It's the Budget tomorrow. You young'uns never had it so good being able to get all the stuff on-line when the Chancellor of the Exchequer sits down following his Commons statement. As a researcher for a political lobbying firm twenty years ago I used to have to queue at the Treasury for what they called … Continue reading A budget for citizens in health research; join an Innovation Gym today and the RI is saved
INVOLVE steps forward to change behaviours on plain English summaries of health research
I make no apology for being a little bit obsessed by plain English summaries of research this week. Events have conspired to make it this way. So, what did NIHR do when faced late last year with rising concern among academics, researchers, patients and the public about the poor quality of lay summaries? It commissioned … Continue reading INVOLVE steps forward to change behaviours on plain English summaries of health research
The lay summary is dead, long live the lay summary (#A2UComp)
'They can't write for toffee.' 'They' being scientists of course. But like most generalisations, this statement is utter tosh. You only had to be at the 'Access to Understanding' awards (#A2UComp) at the British Library on Monday night to realise that. The lay summaries that I and my fellow judges had been asked to review … Continue reading The lay summary is dead, long live the lay summary (#A2UComp)
Comment: The Sherpa’s story and its relevance to public involvement in health research
I am indebted to a good friend and colleague of mine who, some time ago, sent me this BBC News story from last year. It reports on the rising concerns among Himalayan Sherpas about the lack of regard being shown towards their needs and the environment as scientists tromp all over the local geography. To the … Continue reading Comment: The Sherpa’s story and its relevance to public involvement in health research
The seven mistakes that organisations make on public involvement
I could easily have chosen more than seven. But I was thinking along the lines of the 'seven wonders.' Please do free to comment with an eight, ninth etc... Anyway, here are what I think are the seven most common mistakes organisations make on public involvement. 1. 'A lack of heart and soul:' Not embracing … Continue reading The seven mistakes that organisations make on public involvement
Notes from a ‘small island’ on Rare Disease Day
It is Rare Disease Day today, 28th February. There is a lot happening and you should check out the Rare Disease Day website for more info http://www.rarediseaseday.org/article/what-is-a-rare-disease . I've already been impressed by the number of NHS organisations tweeting about stuff they have got going on. Last week I attended a really great meeting on … Continue reading Notes from a ‘small island’ on Rare Disease Day
AHSNs, CLAHRCs need to do a ‘Keanu’ and rearrange matter(s) in the public interest
So there I was, reclining on my sofa, recovering from the worst chest infection known to mankind. (Note deliberate reference to the male species there.) And I had decided to use my temporary ill-health to fill some gaps in my movie knowledge. Watching the MATRIX and MATRIX Reloaded it occurred to me that, faced with … Continue reading AHSNs, CLAHRCs need to do a ‘Keanu’ and rearrange matter(s) in the public interest
A bit of a public involvement mash-up including that idea for an NHS Civil Society Assembly
So here's my unsubstantiated personal theory. It is that one of the root causes of the problems besetting today's NHS' is our failure to pay proper heed to the growing crisis in accountability and responsibility that has been a feature of our increasingly complex health system over the last seventy years. From almost the day … Continue reading A bit of a public involvement mash-up including that idea for an NHS Civil Society Assembly
Public have their say on clinical trials gateway
This is already doing the rounds on twitter but I thought I would share the email/letter that I have sent out to those who took part in the survey.... I am pleased to let you know that the results of the UK Clinical Trials Gateway (UKCTG) Patient and Public Survey conducted last summer have been … Continue reading Public have their say on clinical trials gateway
I’ll be honest, I’m in two minds about the Royal Institution (RI) issue.
Last week news broke that the Royal Institution (RI) is looking for buyers for its hallowed Albermarle Street headquarters in London as part of a plan to ease its financial woes. These amount to £7million owed to creditors according to various reports. There's plenty of coverage of the affair in the UK media and a campaign … Continue reading I’ll be honest, I’m in two minds about the Royal Institution (RI) issue.
How your NHS Trust works in mysterious ways when it comes to clinical research
Today the NIHR Clinical Research Network Co-ordinating Centre (NIHR CRN CC) has published the results of a 'mystery shopper' exercise it conducted last year to investigate how well NHS Trusts provide information about clinical research. You may have seen a piece in last Sunday's Observer which trailed this work and you may hear about it … Continue reading How your NHS Trust works in mysterious ways when it comes to clinical research
Research in the NHS: I couldn’t put it better than Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust
Recently I decided to 'Follow' as many of the NHS organisations (Trusts, CCGs etc) as I could find on Twitter. The main reason was that as we ratchet up what we do around the patient access to research agenda in the New Year, I thought it would be good to begin to make connections on … Continue reading Research in the NHS: I couldn’t put it better than Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust
Revised Science and Society Vision: A step forward?
I am in Denmark on a study visit looking at how they do innovation. More on that in a few days time I hope. In the meantime colleagues at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) sent me through the link to their revised vision, aims etc which was published on their website last … Continue reading Revised Science and Society Vision: A step forward?
Are you a weekend or 24/7 patient group?
So there we would be, my 'punk' friends and I, lapping up the attention of tourists in Trafalgar Square, and hopefully but all too rarely their loose change as well. Come Monday of course, we would return to the uniformed anonymity of school. Our rebellious ways no more than a felt tip scribble on our … Continue reading Are you a weekend or 24/7 patient group?
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