Foundation News

National Institute for Health Research Clinician Scientist Fellowship

Dr Gavin Perkins –University of Warwick
Dr Anthony Gordon - Imperial College London

The Foundation

The Intensive Care Foundation aims to save lives by funding research into new treatments  for all critically ill patients.  There are two main reasons for supporting research in this area - one to save lives as 1 in 4 people die in ICU; the other is to improve the quality of life of patients who survive intensive care.

Symptoms of survivors can include; post traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and the social and emotional problems that can result in loss of jobs, depression, stress on families. Research will help formally identify the full range of issues survivors have to deal with which will ultimately allow for early diagnosis and treatment to improve the quality of lives of the intensive care patients and their families.

In collaboration with the Intensive Care Society and its members, together with wider healthcare community, developing new products and services, the Foundation intends to lead in the delivery of higher quality patient care by researching into and contributing to evidence based best practice. 

What we do

• Develop new clinical research focussed on direct patient benefit and supported by the  intensive care community
• Support important pilot studies with funds and ICS members support
• Develop and refine new research ideas
• Support young intensivists

The Foundation will  encourage local implementation of improved practice by developing a network of critical care units that fully contribute to the research programme and then implement the findings to improve patient care. Over a period of time, the Foundation expects to have a significant impact on the critically ill – saving more lives and enabling a higher quality of life after care.

How we do it:

• Set priorities for clinical research
• Undertake national audits and surveys of practice to inform clinical trials
• Award £50,000 research funds for pilot projects
• Make and assist with applications to grant awarding bodies
• Support post graduate training in clinical trials 

Fund raising from:

• Intensive Care Society members and Healthcare
• Trust and Foundations
• Patients and general public

Achievements: 

• Conducting large clinical trials to work out which treatments are most effective for people that become critically ill.
• Supporting individuals doctors and nurses to obtain funding for personal research fellowships to allow them to undertake research for people with critical illness.
• Supported the formation of a UK network of doctors and nurses interested in developing clinical trials 
• Conducting a biannual research prioritization exercise which allows people working in intensive care to decide on the most important research questions.
• Funded successful pilot studies that have gone on to become large scale clinical trials (e.g. TracMan; Balti-2)