Get free health checks at Portsmouth Research Hub Open Day
Research teams will be offering free health checks and advice to the community as part of an open day for people to find out more about clinical studies happening on their doorstep.
Staff at Portsmouth Research Hub are delighted to be opening their doors to the public on Thursday April 18th 2024, between 10am and 2pm.
Based at the John Pounds Centre, the special event will take place in the centre’s sports hall, with tours offered of the clinical trials facility which is located on the first floor.
For your free ticket, please click here.
Portsmouth Research Hub is a collaboration between University Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research). It first opened during the pandemic to help research Covid-19 vaccines, and played an important role in helping roadmap our way out of lockdown.
The team continues to offer local people the chance to take part in clinical trials which aim to save and improve lives, and they’d like to invite people to come along and find out more.
Johanna Mouland, Research Nurse Lead, said: “We’d really love people to come and ask us questions, and have a look around. Everything we do relies on volunteers. People who take part tell us they get a lot out of the experience, knowing they are helping improve healthcare for everyone.”
The event will also be offering health advice and free health checks in the sports hall at the John Pounds Centre.
Organisers are particularly keen to raise awareness among ethnic groups.
Shipa Ahmed Khan, Health Inequalities Lead at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said: “It’s really important that people from all ethnic backgrounds take part in research, because this ensures the safety and effectiveness of new drugs, treatments and interventions.
“Understandably, many people in the city are sceptical and don’t know much about research, so this is a chance to learn and start finding out a little more.”
To date, the team has recruited more than 6,000 participants and this number continues to grow. They have run eight different studies and with many more to come. The next new study opens in May and is another Covid-19 trial, to ensure the best possible protection can be offered during the next Autumn round of vaccinations.
About Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust is one of the largest acute hospital trusts in the country treating over half a million patients each year. The Trust is the second largest employer in Portsmouth. It is also a major provider of training and education to a wide range of health professionals.
The Trust provides comprehensive secondary care and specialist services to a local population of 675,000 people across South East Hampshire and provide many services to a wider catchment area in excess of two million people.
Most of its services are provided at Queen Alexandra Hospital, in Cosham, but it also offers a range of outpatient and diagnostic facilities closer to patients’ homes in community hospital sites and at local treatment centres throughout South East Hampshire.
The hospital also hosts the country’s largest Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit, Joint Hospitals Group South, treating current and former members of the armed forces and their families and training clinicians.
Portsmouth Research Hub is supported by the NIHR
The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We do this by:
- Funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;
- Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services;
- Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research;
- Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges;
- Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system;
- Funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries.
NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK Aid from the UK government.