HDFT Research & Innovation

22/08/2025

Our team set up a "Be Part of Research" stand outside of Herriot's Restaurant yesterday to showcase some of our studies and talk to patients, visitors and staff about the work we do here at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

We had lots of interest and some great discussions, with many people wishing to register their details on the Be Part of Research website.

Be Part of Research is an annual campaign led by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. It seeks to raise awareness of the important role health and care research plays, as well as to drive participation in research studies.

The Be Part of Research website (https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/) is a free service which makes it easy to find and take part in vital health and care research across the UK. After registering, you can enter the health conditions you’re interested in and the site will match you to suitable studies and send you information on how to take part.

Whatever your state of health, you can help us to find new and better ways to treat conditions and improve care.

Pictured are our Research Nurses Annie, Louise and Sarah at our promotional stand.

02/07/2025

Our team recently celebrated our first year of recruitment to BaBi Harrogate! 🥳

Born and Bred in Harrogate is a project being run at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust as part of a group of ‘Born and Bred in (BaBi)’ research projects about families and children to help us learn more about how they can live healthier, happier lives.

Over 1,200 local mothers and babies have been recruited to the project so far and they will help us to improve the care for families in the Harrogate and District area.

Women booked for maternity care at Harrogate District Hospital are invited to become part of the study by a Trust midwife during routine antenatal appointments. If happy to participate, health researchers will link together routinely collected data from parent and child, such as blood pressure measurements or details of baby’s height and weight, to see how health, care and services could be improved through research and planning in Harrogate and beyond.

This research may identify relationships between events that happen in pregnancy and a child’s future health, or highlight if childhood conditions such as asthma are more prevalent in one particular area of the district.

BaBi Harrogate has recently identified three top priority areas to focus its research projects on: 1) childhood obesity; 2) lower deprivation communities; and 3) children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We would like to say a big thank you to all of our participants who have kindly agreed to take part in BaBi.

For more information on the project, please visit: https://www.hdft.nhs.uk/news/new-research-study-launched-in-harrogate/ and follow our BaBi Harrogate page for updates.

26/06/2025

We celebrated at our team Wellbeing Day this week!

Our team wore red to show our support and appreciation for all those undertaking, supporting and participating in clinical research. 💃

The day was a great opportunity to celebrate the innovative treatments, systems and changes in care that have arisen from research.

Staff also brought some delicious home-made food to share while we discussed important topics relating to the team's health and wellbeing.

Founded in 2020, is celebrated annually in June. The event is not country, group or organisation-specific and is powered by collective efforts; the campaign has been supported internationally across Africa, Australia, Chile, China, India, Italy, Malaysia, Spain and the USA as well as here in the UK.

20/06/2025

20/06/2025

Happy Day from all of us at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust's Research and Innovation Team! 🎈

Day was founded in 2020 and is celebrated in June each year. The event encourages people to wear red to demonstrate their support and appreciation for all those undertaking, supporting and participating in clinical research. It is an opportunity to showcase the fantastic work, learning legacy and innovative treatments, systems and techniques that have arisen from research.

Our team will be getting together to celebrate at our upcoming Wellbeing Day on Tuesday 24th June - look out for our photos next week!

06/06/2025

The GEDACNE-1 study has recently opened at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and our Dermatology Research Team are looking for participants.

The trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of a new topical drug (applied directly to the skin) for acne vulgaris.

If you are aged between 9 and 49, have acne vulgaris on your face (or face and trunk) and are interested in taking part, please get in touch and we will send you more information:

📧 hdft.dermatologyresearch@nhs.net
☎️ 01423 555468

Please share this information with any friends or family who may be interested in taking part. Thank you.

27/05/2025

We are still recruiting well to the BaBi Harrogate study! 🎉👶

We currently have 1118 recruits and this number is increasing by the day.

Our team will be celebrating our achievements with a Babi stand in the antenatal clinic at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust on the morning of Tuesday 10th June.

Our first recruits, baby Freddie and Mum Georgie (one of our Research Nurses), will be in attendance and we look forward to meeting anyone who wants to learn more about the study and meet our fantastic team.

23/05/2025

🧠 👂 This week is Dementia Action Week. What impact does hearing loss have on dementia risk?

New research found that people with hearing loss had an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The greater the hearing loss, the higher the risk of dementia.

💬 Tom is a researcher, but he also has experience of hearing loss. He commented: “As a clinician, I need to be aware of the importance of detecting and managing hearing loss.

"At a personal level, I have moderate hearing loss and wear hearing aids. The main benefits for me are immediate and more to do with social life and personal well-being, though of course if they protect my brain that is great too."

The next step for this research is to test whether providing hearing aids early, with the right support for long-term use, can reduce dementia risk.

Read more in the comments below 👇

20/05/2025

If you're interested in taking part in clinical research, click on the link below to find out more and help us turn today's research into tomorrow's healthcare.

On Clinical Trials Day, we want to say thank you to the volunteers who are making health research possible.

Clinical trials can change lives. But it is people like you who make them happen.

Help us make a difference: https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/join?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=launch

20/05/2025

20/05/2025

Thank you to all of our Harrogate research participants for helping us push forward to improve care and treatment for all.

Your help and time is invaluable and together we are changing medical practice step by step 💊🔬🧬

Today is Clinical Trials Day – a moment to say a huge thank you to the incredible research participants across the country and the dedicated research teams who make it all possible.

Every trial, every breakthrough, every step forward in health and care – it's all thanks to you.

Across the country, there’ll be events taking place to mark the day – and we’ll be sharing round-ups and highlights at various points, so stay tuned!

Want to be part of something that changes lives?
Sign up to Be Part Of Research: bepartofresearch.uk