enhanced practice including non-medical prescribing and advanced history taking, and there is one advanced clinical practitioner in post. A pathway to support Advance Practice roles is being developed with the Trust lead for advanced practice.
16. Study impact
16.1. The high volume and variety of clinical research hosted by OUH has important benefits for our patients, and major reputational and other benefits for the Trust. OUH-University of Oxford clinical research has had major impacts on patient care in the Oxford region, the NHS nationally, and internationally, in areas as diverse as infection control and treatment, vaccines, genomics, imaging, digital health and artificial intelligence, cancer, respiratory, diabetes, surgical innovations and many others. These advances have established new diagnostics and treatments, changed clinical guidelines for many conditions and have led to multiple spin-out companies.
16.2. Recent examples of high-impact research carried out at OUH include:
- The DETECT study demonstrated that an experimental imaging agent may help to locate endometriosis lesions that standard scans can miss and could represent a non-invasive tool for diagnosing and monitoring the condition, which could benefit millions of women across the world.
- Two world firsts have taken place in trials at OUH to tackle the blood cancer myeloma. One of the trials is testing a new tracer to be used on myeloma patients during PET-CT scans; the other is investigating a new potential drug combination therapy.
- The CRAFFT trial suggests that most children with a severely broken wrist can be treated without surgery and instead a cast-first approach delivers similar long-term recovery while reducing the risks associated with surgery and costs.
- The first population-level study published links first-trimester ultrasound practice with early detection rates for serious congenital anomalies. Early screening resulted in earlier detection for 40% of anomalies, including heart and limb issues. The findings have significant implications for national screening policy, parental decision-making, and equity of care. Despite technological advances making early detection possible, there is no national policy recommending first-trimester anatomical screening in England, leading to striking regional differences in practice.