Celebrating Patient and Public Involvement across the East of England
What a day! On Tuesday 16 June the NIHR East of England PPI Showcase at the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre attracted more than 130 patients, members of the public and researchers, all eager to find out more about some of the excellent PPI underpinning clinical research that is taking place within the region.
The day featured a variety of talks, a poster exhibition and health stands from NIHR organisations and research institutions, offering attendees the chance to connect, share and learn about the amazing health research being done across the region.
The showcase was an opportunity to come together and commemorate the NIHR’s 20th anniversary as well as highlighting the importance of collaboration. The event showed how joining forces with our NIHR colleagues and research partners we can not only produce high-quality research but accelerate new treatments, provide better outcomes for patients and benefit the NHS.
But most importantly, the day was about celebrating the vital role that patients and the public play in health research, highlighting the real impact that patients and the public have and how their voices can really change research for the better.
Event organiser Georgine Norris from the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Cambridge said: “NIHR infrastructure across the East of England worked with other research organisations to put together a genuine Showcase of some of the best PPI regionally.
“But it was also a day of celebration – it’s 20 years since NIHR was founded and we also wanted to celebrate its achievements in ground-breaking health and social care research, that has benefited hugely from involving patients and the public.”
Feedback from the day was overwhelmingly positive – one patient said: “I learned a lot, and this it’s very important to have this event running.” While others commented on the ‘great talks’ and networking. One attendee said: “Some fantastic examples of PPIE very inspiring – much food for thought!”
Dr Alex Churchill, Deputy Director for Clinical Trials Policy from the Department of Health and Social Care attended the event to listen to talks, see the poster exhibition and meet researchers.
The celebration culminated a cake for the NIHR’s 20th birthday cut by patient Rosanna Fennessy who also chaired one of the day’s sessions.
See our short slideshow of some of the photos from the showcase.
