King’s College London observes Red4Research day
This year, #Red4Research day is taking place on Friday 16 June. To celebrate, we will be lighting up the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) and the Maudsley Hospital and in red at 9pm this evening to show our commitment to supporting research and development.
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust will also be launching a brand new online database – Take Part in Research – a resource aimed at service users and the wider public to help more people to get involved in mental health research taking place at the Trust and IoPPN. The ‘Take Part in Research’ web pages list a variety of research opportunities for patients at the Trust, and builds on the partnership’s world-leading expertise.
This is a fantastic development, and we encourage everyone to take a look at the site and get involved in sharing research opportunities. Research is at the heart of everything we do and helps us to expand our knowledge and practices whilst providing opportunities for novel treatments and therapies. Our new database will help us to reach more people, particularly service users, as we want everyone to have equal opportunity to take part and benefit from the world leading research that the Trust offers.
Tanya Shlovogt, Director of Research Quality, Head of Joint R&D Office of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and IoPPN
Research Champion at the Trust, Irfan Bin Mohd Shofian, said: “I believe that research provides evidence to drive better treatment outcomes for our patients and staff. The impact might not be immediately obvious, but they all contribute crucial understanding and insights in building meaningful change for future generations.”
Service user and volunteer Charlie Costa said: “Research is close to home, it’s really important to me. I didn’t have a diagnosis for years, but if more research had been around when I was younger, I might not have had to go through that. I’ve taken part in loads of different studies and trials – from having iPads sent to me and answering questionnaires, to coming into the hospital or going in a scanner. Doing research is one of the ways I want to give back to others, and make sure that we get more knowledge and more people talking about mental health.”
Service User Researcher Katherine Barrett added: “Mental health research enables new ways of looking at mental illness, finding new, practical approaches and implementing new ideas – which ultimately benefits everyone. I have many good experiences of being part of research and I’ve learnt a lot through my involvement. For example, I’ve learnt about various mental illnesses and all the different ways of conducting trials. I think co-production with service users in research is important, as everyone learns so much. Service user voices and experiences give new perspectives for the researcher, and lead to improvements in their research.”