North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are now a part of the Tees Valley Research Alliance.
This strategic and operational alliance combines the research and development departments from the two acute trusts into one overarching department, which operates across both trusts.
This creates an efficient research set up and delivery service, with the aim of sharing information on studies.
This means that all patients across Tees Valley are offered the same opportunities to take part in cutting edge clinical trials.
Benefits to patients
Taking part in research should not be a postcode lottery. All study opportunities are now shared across both trusts for consideration.
By making study set up and delivery more efficient and attractive to companies and sponsors we hope to attract more studies into our trusts for you to take part in.
Benefits to our partners
Our research and development partners benefit from the two trusts forming an alliance in the following ways:
- One single point of contact to set up studies across all three trusts reducing sponsor time, bureaucracy and set up timelines
- Streamlining of confirmation and capacity processes with shared proformas, templates and processes.
- Access to a population of one million through a single point of contact.
- Shared standard operating procedures and processes standardise how the studies are set up and run
Our TVRA executive has also developed a research strategy which aims to bring more research to more patients in our area.
The TVRA senior management team are responsible for making sure we deliver on this strategy alongside our team leads, set up and governance team, our delivery staff and research staff in our clinical support services including pathology, radiology and pharmacy.
More information about the TVRA’s strategy is available on our strategy overview page.
Benefits to staff
A new TVRA communications officer has been appointed to make sure patients and staff hear more about our work and the exciting things that happen when you take part in research.
A new TVRA reporting officer makes sure all directorates in all three trusts know about the research happening in their area.
Our new chief investigator support service provides expertise to anyone wanting to initiate their own research in the following areas:
- study protocol design
- sponsor risk assessment
- grant costings
- trial oversight
- trial monitoring
Access to support from external partners such as Research Design Service, MedConnect, CTUs and university partners is another benefit to staff.
To find out more about how the alliance can support you email: [email protected].
Some key achievements from within the TVRA
Novavax Trial (both trusts)
We were successful in being selected as a site for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine trial. Without collaboration of all three trusts this trial would not have been possible to run by any one of our trusts alone.
We successfully over recruited to this trial. 532 participants were recruited against a target of 350. The vaccine is now authorised for use across the world.
Recovery (North Tees)
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust were the second highest UK recruiter into the Recovery COVID treatment trial.
This study was the first study globally to identify effective treatments for patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.
Remap Cap (South Tees)
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were the third highest recruiter into the Remap Cap COVID-19 treatment trial in critical care patients.
Similar to the Recovery trial, this trial focused on finding effective treatments for seriously ill COVID-19 patients in critical care.
