Tag: Events

Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited the COVID-19 vaccination centre for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) staff on February 17 2021.

Their Royal Highnesses, joined by The Right Honourable Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, visited the hub here at the Institute of Translational Medicine with key members of the UHB vaccine research team, vaccine rollout team, and members of the public who have taken part in COVID-19 vaccine research in the West Midlands. They also saw people in the top four priority groups receiving their first dose of the vaccine.

Dr David Rosser, Chief Executive Officer at UHB, said: “The Trust is working with our colleagues at Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group, GP partners, pharmacies, Millennium Point and Aston Villa Football Club on the continued successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine programme. To date, hundreds of thousands of people across Birmingham and Solihull have received their first dose. As supply increases and eligibility widens, we are looking forward to vaccinating more people and bringing us closer on the path back to normal life.”

Safe and effective vaccines were developed in record time thanks to vaccine research which began in early 2020. The vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and Astrazeneca, one of two currently in use in the UK, was trialled on more than 20,000 people in 2020.

Recruitment to the Oxford vaccine trial was led in the West Midlands by UHB, with almost 1,000 people taking part in vaccine research in the region – the highest total of any area in the country.

Dr Chris Green, UHB Consultant in Infectious Diseases and the trial lead in the West Midlands, said: “The rollout of vaccines is only possible because of the help of the many members of the public who were willing to take part in clinical trials.

“Thanks to them, the successful results are now leading to a wider rollout which will result in protection for the public, and a reduction in the risk of the disease that will allow us to return to a more normal world.

“Alongside the rollout, vaccine research continues with recruitment to new trials, including the testing of other vaccines and the potential to mix and match already approved vaccines.”

Health Secretary, Matt Hancock said: “I was delighted to visit the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham alongside their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, and to thank the staff for their heroic efforts throughout the pandemic.

“From treating those suffering from COVID-19 to recruiting record numbers of patients to take part in vaccine clinical trials, each and every one of those working on the frontline has played an incredible role in our nationwide fight against this virus.

“The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has played a vital part in helping us reach our target to vaccinate the top four priority groups by mid-February, delivering over 200,000 doses of the vaccine to the most vulnerable people in their community – a truly fantastic achievement.

“There is still more to do, and I urge anyone eligible for the vaccine to come forward and take up their appointment.”

Thursday 26 September saw Baroness Blackwood, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Innovation at the Department of Health and Social Care, visit Birmingham Health Partners at the ITM for a broad introduction to our work. On the agenda were our new Health Data Research Hubs, expertise in patient-reported outcomes research and the critical global challenge of women’s and children’s health.

The Minister also had chance to discuss the University of Birmingham’s ambitious plans to develop a £300m Birmingham Life Sciences Park. Once completed, the park is forecast to generate over £180 million GVA (gross value added) and 3,600 jobs over 10 years, with the potential to catalyse a further 10,000 jobs and £400 million GVA across the West Midlands.

During her visit, Baroness Blackwood held discussions with Dr John Williams, Managing Director of Birmingham Health Partners, and clinical experts including:

• Dr Elizabeth Sapey, Director of PIONEER – The Health Data Research Hub for Acute Care
• Professor Alastair Denniston, Director of INSIGHT – The Health Data Research Hub for Eye Health
• Professor Melanie Calvert, Director of the Centre for Patient Reported Outcomes Research at the University of Birmingham
• Tim Jones, Executive Director for Innovation at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
• Dr Kate Morris, Reader in Maternal Fetal Medicine at the University of Birmingham
• Professor Pam Kearns, Director of the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Birmingham

Birmingham Life Sciences Park will encourage closer collaboration between industry, clinicians and academics. Patients will benefit from early access to healthcare innovations, which will also generate commercial opportunities for UK businesses.

The Centre for Trauma Sciences Research has been launched by Birmingham Health Partners members, aiming to advance the development of new technologies and clinical treatments for trauma patients.

Led by Ann Logan, Professor of Molecular Neuroscience at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, the centre will focus on enabling the translational pathway from conception towards clinical adoption.

“Worldwide, trauma kills six million people every year and traumatic injury is the biggest killer of people under the age of 40, as well as being the greatest cause of permanent disability.

“With an ageing population, it is also now a leading cause of death and morbidity for elderly people, second only to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

“Each year in the UK over 16,000 people die from road traffic collisions, interpersonal violence or falls from height.

“Trauma research is vital to help us understand how the body responds to injury, leading to improvements and innovations in diagnosis, resuscitation, surgery and intensive care.

“Only through research can we reduce deaths from trauma and reduce suffering for all trauma survivors.

“We are delighted to open this new centre, which will provide a focal point that links pre-clinical and clinical researchers working across wide-ranging translational trauma science projects.”

Professor Ann Logan

The centre will be supported by Professor Liam Grover through his role as Director of the Healthcare Technologies Institute, based within the Institute of Translational Medicine, which is advancing new technologies and treatments that encourage better tissue healing and rehabilitation tools to ensure people live longer, healthier and happier lives.

Close work will also take place with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre (SRMRC), the NIHR Trauma Management MedTech Co-Operative, the Scar Free Foundation Centre for Conflict Wound Research (all of which are based in the ITM), the Physical Sciences for Health Centre, and the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.

The centre will also act as the hub of a national network of trauma science research laboratories, becoming the ‘go to’ centre for near-patient testing, consultancy, information and access to key academic, commercial, regulatory and clinical partnerships.

In addition, it will build significant research capacity by training a substantive cohort of early career trauma research scientists, both clinical and non-clinical, who will drive future trauma research to address a research capacity deficit in trauma in the UK.

HRH The Duke of Sussex met scientists and clinical experts from BHP founder members the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust during a visit to the world’s first specialist military and civilian wound research centre, hosted here at the ITM.

His Royal Highness visited the Scar Free Foundation Centre for Conflict Wound Research, a ground-breaking national facility based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, which aims to minimise the psychological and physical impact of scarring and limb loss among Armed Forces personnel injured in service and civilians wounded in terrorist attacks.

The Duke met with the University of Birmingham team behind one of the Centre’s flagship research projects, which is developing new treatments to reduce scarring.  The treatments, being developed by scientists at the University’s Institute of Inflammation and Ageing and College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, include a laser therapy to correct historic scars and a pro-healing protein called Decorin being developed within a new biomaterial gel for use as an anti-scarring dressing.

His Royal Highness observed veterans, seriously injured while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, taking part in a workshop that is part of the Centre’s project piloting tailored psychosocial treatments to help them cope with life with an altered and scarred appearance.

Those taking part in the study have been recruited through The CASEVAC Club, which represents injured veterans, and the research is being carried out in partnership with the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England.

“The Trust has a long and proud history of collaboration between both military and NHS clinicians and patients. This combined experience of treating both civilian trauma patients and injured personnel has led to the development of pioneering surgical techniques in the management of ballistic, blast and burns trauma, including bespoke surgical solutions for previously unseen injuries.

“To further this work through research will leave a lasting legacy in the improved rehabilitation of our most seriously injured patients.”

Dr David Rosser, Chief Executive, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Professor Sir David Eastwood, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Birmingham, was among those to welcome His Royal Highness to the Centre today.  He said: “We have a long and proud history of collaborating with partners to support life changing research and our work with the Scar Free Foundation and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust sees us combine our expertise with the goal of achieving scar free healing within a generation. I was delighted to welcome His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex today to see our crucial work in this area first hand.”

“Scarring not only has a lasting physical effect, but can have a serious emotional impact long after the wounds themselves have healed.

“The visible changes in appearance caused by conflict injuries that result in looking ‘different’ can be distressing for military personnel and their families.

“With the help of the people who have experienced this kind of life changing injury we can learn what support is needed by those affected, and develop tailored interventions for the armed forces community, an important part of our goal to deliver scar free healing within a generation.”

Brendan Eley, Chief Executive of the Scar Free Foundation