People on the East Coast living with multiple long term health conditions are set to benefit from a new research hub at Scarborough Hospital where some of the best clinical researchers will play a vital role in increasing the understanding of health and disease.

The Scarborough Multimorbidity Research Hub opened today in a partnership between York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Hull York Medical School (HYMS). It brings together clinical researchers in both primary and secondary care to deliver research studies to benefit patients on the East Coast.

The Hub will enable patients with two or more long term conditions to take part in research studies into diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, asthma, heart failure and stroke. This means that patients whose care is normally delivered in a community setting, such as GP surgery clinics, will be able to take part in studies that will help researchers improve treatment in the future.

Professor Vijay Jayagopal, Consultant Diabetologist at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Clinical Dean at Hull York Medical School is one of the founders of the hub. He said: “Care for people with multimorbidity is complicated because different conditions and their treatments often interact in complex ways. This research will play a vital role in improving patient outcomes and developing the right individual treatment.”

Funding for the hub has been provided by the National Institute for Health (NIHR), the largest funder of clinical research in England. It will primarily support consultants’ time to do research, a Research Fellow and a Research Practitioner.

Dr David Yates, Consultant Anaesthetist and Clinical Lead for Research, said: “Scarborough and Ryedale has a higher than average incidence of long term conditions such as asthma, diabetes, stroke and COPD and individuals are prone to multiple long-term diseases which can significantly reduce life-expectancy.

“We are delighted to bring the research hub to Scarborough. There is an increasing body of evidence that demonstrates that patients being treated in research active hospitals have better outcomes, improved mortality rates, have more confidence in their treatment and in staff and as such have a better experience.”

Professor Una Macleod, Dean of Hull York Medical School said: “The number of people living with more than one long-term condition has increased dramatically over recent years. We are delighted to be working in partnership with York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Together, we can increase understanding of the impact of multimorbidity across a range of conditions, and importantly improve outcomes for those patients with multimorbidity in our region.”

28 January 2022