Patient and Public Involvement week returns and is a huge hit

Nearly 200 people attended an exciting week of Patient and Public Involvement events at the end of June. This was the first event of its kind held on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

Hosted by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), University of Cambridge and Anglian Ruskin University (ARU), the event aimed to celebrate and raise awareness of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in health research.

The week began with a webinar for members of the public who were able to hear how people’s voices can help shape health and care research and opportunities to get involved in research through CUH, NIHR Cambridge BRC, Anglia Ruskin University and other health and research partners across the region. The 90-minute webinar highlighted the importance of PPI in health research and attendees heard about some of the examples of activities the NIHR Cambridge BRC PPI panel members are involved in.

On Tuesday we held a public PPI showcase of talks and poster exhibits from health researchers where they explained how patient and public involvement had made an impact to their research. Attendees were able to network and vote for the best poster and talks from the morning and afternoon sessions. The all-day event received excellent feedback, with one saying: “I just wanted to give a big thank you. It’s really important to have an event where you can find out about what is going on in Cambridge and the PPI space.”

Wednesday provided an opportunity to learn from our partners at ARU about their ‘Let’s Shape Research Together’ public involvement programme. Their annual conference showcases case studies, as well as keynote speakers from PPIE experts across Cambridgeshire.

The final event of the week was a market stall drop-in at the David Dunn Suite in CUH, where staff and members of the public could meet health and research patient and public involvement teams across Cambridgeshire, from the NIHR Cambridge BRC, Cambridge Biomedical Campus local voices, CRUK, IMS and Stem Cell, Cambridge School of Biology, Cambridge Clinical School, Cambridge Children’s Hospital, ACTIVE and CUH members. The organisations were able to provide more information on how people could volunteer to their panels and offer staff support and advice on their PPI projects. One attendee said: “It was a great event, I had some really valuable conversations with the staff.”

Dr Amanda Stranks, PPI and communications strategy lead from NIHR Cambridge BRC and one of the organisers said: “This week of PPI events gave us the chance to celebrate and showcase some of the best examples of patient and public involvement in research that are happening on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. The variety and quality of the examples are testament to how researchers and our public are working in partnership across Cambridge to produce life-changing research.

“Patient and Public Involvement makes such a difference to the research we do here in Cambridge. We need public voices to make sure we are doing the best research we can, and that our research opportunities are widely accessible and meet patient’s needs. Showcasing examples of how the public make a different to our research and our researchers helps to encourage more researchers and members of the public to get involved.

“We’re really pleased by the response of staff and the public to the week’s activities and would like to extend our thanks to all who came and supported the events. We received some amazing feedback and are delighted to see an increase in sign-ups to some of the Cambridgeshire panels. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone next year, for an even bigger regional public involvement week!

Read about the three winners from the PPI showcase as voted by attendees.