A recent article has come out detailing the work of research nurses in the UK and the role they play in battling Covid-19.
Although all clinical staff are battling tough times while working to reduce the impact of Covid-19, research nurses are at the front line to support cutting-edge research into Covid-19. This can include helping with research into new medicines, developing vaccines and helping to develop our understanding of the disease.
There are many trials going on across the UK, and in Grampian. This research covers a number of different areas which are important in Covid-19. These include:
- looking at treatment options for Covid-19, such as in the RECOVERY trial,
- into potential vaccines,
- into the use of antibody testing in Covid-19,
- investigating if blood plasma transfusions could help people with Covid-19,
- Genetic studies to understand if genes affect someone’s response to Covid-19,
- Observational studies – where data is gathered over time to gain an understanding of symptoms and disease progression, such as in the ISARIC study.
These studies have been getting set up quicker due to the unique situation. This has been happening while the teams are also facing Covid-19 related issues seen across the service such as staff being redeployed, and working in the changing hospital environment. The article also highlights other challenges such as the mental burden of these changes on nurses but it also praises the important and amazing work that research nurses have been doing during this pandemic.
We asked Carole Edwards about the NHS Grampian Research Nurses “In Grampian, we have been working on a number of studies, including some mentioned in this article. The team have embraced the challenges brought on by Covid-19 and I couldn’t be prouder of them. The work they are doing is vital for NHS Grampian and for progressing the understanding of Covid-19. Well done team!”
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