Photo credit World Obesity Federation

A team of researchers has been awarded nearly £2.5 million from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

PenARC researchers will work with colleagues at the University of Exeter Medical School and the University of Plymouth, the NHS, patients and the Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit (PenCTU), to investigate whether an intensive group-based behavioural programme called PRO-GROUP is less costly and more effective than usual care for people with severe obesity, and can save money.

The research, which arose from PenARC's question prioritisation process, involves the Plymouth and West Devon Weight Management Service which is provided by Livewell Southwest...

A joint project between the Universities of Oxford and Plymouth and supported by us and our colleagues at ARC Oxford and Thames Valley has received £750,000 of funding from the Economic and Social Research Council to support the delivery of effective remote care to patients by GPs. The research team, which includes our Deputy Director and Professor in Primary Care Research Richard Byng and researchers from the Nuffield Trust, is led by Professor Trisha Greenhalgh from the University of Oxford.

The way that patients access GP services has changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the contagious nature of the...

A University of Exeter-led national research team, including PenARC's Evidence Synthesis and Patient and Public Involvement in Research teams, are researching nursing care for patients in hospital with COVID-19. Funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the team will evaluate a system of nursing care designed specifically for COVID patients in a large clinical trial across the UK.

Nursing is hugely important to people in hospital. Nursing care makes a significant difference to the way people experience being in hospital and to their recovery. For people with COVID-19, their symptoms and the infectiousness of the...

A collaboration between PenARC, the University of Exeter and Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is making a major contribution to the management of dialysis services in the south of England during the COVID-19 outbreak.

People requiring renal replacement therapy are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and rely on essential treatment, necessitating travel to treatment centres. This accounts for a significant volume of non-emergency ambulance transport.

PenARC’s operational research team, PenCHORD, in conjunction with researchers from the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (IDSAI) at the University of Exeter and the renal department at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, used computer modelling to...

A collaboration between PenARC and University of Exeter Researchers and the NHS has developed a crucial new tool to ensure health trusts maintain sufficient levels of life-saving equipment and bed spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research team, led by Professor Gavin Shaddick from the University of Exeter, in collaboration with PenCHORD and PenARC colleagues, has developed a new data modelling tool to help forecast demand on crucial NHS resources in the region.

The forecasts have been used to help predict the demand for in-patient beds, intensive care, PPE, ventilators, oxygen and testing kits. Crucially, it has also incorporated not only predicted hospital staffing requirements, but also...

Five tips from project to support people with dementia and carers in COVID-19 lockdown

New guidance has been developed as part of a major project to support people with dementia and family carers who are facing isolation and reduced services as a result of COVID-19.

A new leaflet features five simple tips, developed using the latest robust research and with the input of people affected by dementia. The leaflet is part-funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), in a project led by the University of Exeter and the NIHR Older People and Frailty Policy Research Unit, with partners including...