Case study: Offering patients research opportunities is Lavinia and Sarah's aim

Worcestershire’s Research Midwives insist research is the answer if people want to see meaningful change in healthcare.

Catherine Townsend, Team Lead for the Central Research Team Research Midwife at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, and her Research Midwives Jessie Brain and Krissy Timmins, cover Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Kidderminster Treatment Centre and Alexandra Hospital, Redditch.

Catherine has been involved in research since 2017 and Jessie since 2019, while Krissy is new to research this year and all are keen to promote International Day of the Midwife.

Between them they are working on six clinical trials, and are convinced that research leads to better outcomes for patients.

“Research verifies that our current practices are evidence based as well as ensuring future practices are safe, cost-effective and patient-friendly,” they said.

“We love that research influences guidance and protocols to ensure every patient gets the gold standard of care. It is also important to us that patients at research-active hospitals are proven to have better outcomes than their counterparts that are not offered research.

Encouraging other Midwives to become research active, they said: “We need to see change in Midwifery right now.

“It’s challenging with increasing pressures to do more, and research often feels like an added task to do on the very long list Midwives have.

“However, to see meaningful change, research is the answer. The ultimate aim of all health research is provide better care for patients and a more streamlined working experience for Midwives, and in our hearts this is what all Midwives strive for.”

Esprit-2 is a multi-centre, Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) to determine the effectiveness of laparoscopic removal of isolated peritoneal endometriosis for the management of chronic pelvic pain in women.

Regal looks at the clinical and cost effectiveness of Gonadatrophin Releasing Hormone Analogues with add-back Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) versus repeat laparoscopic surgery.

MiNESS 20-28 – or Mothers Working to Prevent Early Stillbirth Study – investigates modifiable factors associated with stillbirth with the aim of reducing them in the UK.

OBS UK is an Obstetric Bleeding Study Quality Improvement Programme to reduce excess bleeding and need for transfusion after childbirth.

PROTECTOR is a risk-reducing surgical trial for women genetically at increased risk of ovarian cancer eg. BRCA 1 and 2 offering pre-menopausal women more options.

LOCI -Letrozole Or Clomifene for Ovulation Induction - is a fertility trial to determine if Letrozole or Clomifene, with or without metformin, is the most effective for increasing ovulation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.