Research Area
We are involved in the patient journey from diagnosis, preparation and optimisation for surgery, hospital care and subsequent rehabilitation. Staff include clinicians, surgeons, nurses and physiotherapists, with broad expertise encompassing critical care, respiratory and geriatric medicine, anaesthesia and orthopaedic surgery.
Our Research
Research is embedded within our clinical practice, as we know that research active hospitals deliver the best outcomes for our patients. Focusing on research relevant to our local population enables us to drive projects that can influence and be promptly implemented into practice. Our research focuses on a patient-centred collaborative approach encompassing the multi-disciplinary team, whilst acknowledging that working with community partners is pivotal to implementing enduring change.
We aim to lead and contribute to research on the NIHR Clinical Research Portfolio, with a goal to offer all our patients the chance to take part in clinical research. Our critical care team, for example, have embedded research into practice, with our nurses facilitating delivery of multiple national studies (STARRT-AKI, EFFORT, RUBY, RECOVERY, GENOMICC, ISARIC, UK-ROX, MOSAICC) that have enabled us to be the top recruiter in the region to national studies
We have expertise in:
Risk stratification and Prediction Modelling:
Including developing the first validated early warning score, implementing the first electronic Acute kidney injury prediction model, mortality prediction in older adults and exploration of electronic frailty assessments.
Wearable tech:
Devices and apps following COVID-19 critical care, hip fractures and pre-habilitation.
Exercise and physical activity:
We collaborate with academic partners to study responses to running at the Brighton Marathon, exploring electrolyte disturbances, novel biomarkers and wireless tech measuring core temperature, creating knowledge to be translated to the clinical environment.
This year we delivered a project exploring broadening research engagement by interviewing a diverse range of people from our local population, supported by an award from our regional clinical research network (CRN). We work closely with out public research champions team. Patients who have taken part in our studies have gone on to be expert PPIE in national studies.
Our team has a track of success partnering with local universities to provide clinicians, nurses and allied health professionals with postgraduate awards including MDs and PhDs. Academic collaborators regionally are based at the Universities of Brighton, Sussex, Chichester and Surrey and nationally at Cambridge, LSHTM, the Open University and the Armed Forces. Their diverse backgrounds in physiology, anthropology and psychology enhance our expertise in mixed methods research.
A weekly cross-site on-line journal club set-up and run by Dr Adam Eddie Consultant Anaethetist at Brighton facilitates learning from key studies and research methodologies covering subjects across anaesthetics, intensive care and peri-operative medicine.
Key Outputs
1. COVID-OR – CRN Portfolio adopted study, on multi-centre working and qualitative interviews
Impact: this work featured on ITV regional news, multi-media and has led to service change in our MDT follow-up of critical care patients using wearable devices on their recovery journey;
2. Hip fracture work – this study looked at optimising rehabilitation through technology with grants from Innovate UK and NIHR ARC KSS. Impact: the intervention group had reduced hospital re-admissions and fractures, leading to two further pilots funded alongside Age UK and NHS Sussex working towards implementation in clinical practice.
3. Brighton Marathon Research – over a decade we have delivered field research to understand physiological responses to an extreme event, to translate into clinical learning. Creatinine changes: a systematic review and our decade of experience followed by the first use of markers of cell cycle arrest to explore kidney stress in a marathon. We have received grants from BASEM and the Ministry of Defence, presented at World Athletics, the annual BASEM conference and featured on Radio Sussex when we performed the first study to look at core temperature in a mass participation event using ingestible telemetry pills.
Current Projects
H2H – Doctoral fellowship MD exploring wearable tech across the pathway for colorectal surgery providing personalised prehab and rehab, using mixed methods; award from NIHR KSS ARC.
COPD – PhD Physiotherapist exploring Sedentary time in patients and use of wearable tech
Electronic urine output monitoring – NIHR PhD Nurse exploring use of wireless devices
N-TEAM – led multi-centre study of out of theatres intubations.
NIHR Portfolio: UK ROX, Genomicc, Mosaicc, with trainees assigned as associate PIs.
Key Contact Details
- Dr Luke Hodgson, Intensive Care Consultant Worthing hospital; risk stratification, exercise, digital, clinical trials
- Dr Anacarolina Goncalves, Physiotherapist, Lecturer University of Portsmouth, mobility and physical activity levels, falls prevention and rehabilitation, people living with dementia, use of technology in rehabilitation, patient and public involvement and engagement
- Dr Christina Koulouglioti, Senior Research Fellow, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, robotics and older people
- Dr Richard Venn, perioperative consultant, risk stratification, exercise and health of older people
- Dr Michael Margerson, Dr Philip McGlone Local St Richard’s PIs.