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Social care An effective health service is reliant on an effective social care system, and it is therefore vital that we develop a robust research base for social care, to ensure that local authorities (LAs) and third sector organisations provide the most effective services within a wider integrated system of health and social care. Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole | Dorset Location Location Location Professor Lee-Ann Fenge Social Care lead Growing social care research capacity Social care touches every family in Britain, yet there is a paucity of social care research and historically limited access to the research infrastructure that shapes NHS and social care practice. The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Wessex Social Care Programme was created to change this. Our overarching aim was to build the skills, confidence and partnerships that allow social-care staff, carers and local organisations to use research to improve people’s lives. Working with local authorities, voluntary groups and unpaid carers across Wessex, the programme supports the DHSC vision for a fairer, more integrated system that helps people to live well at home for longer. Research champions funded within three local authorities (BCP, Dorset and Portsmouth City Council) and with voluntary sector organisations including MYTIME , and Help and Care have supported a culture of research engagement across the workforce in these organisations, including through facilitation of journal clubs, joint publications with academics and involvement in research projects. Adults Services within BCP Council have now adopted the research champion model across all of their adults teams as part of their workforce development strategy. Driving Improvement in Services and Local Policy · The programme’s practical studies have directly improved service; from staff training on inclusive communication to the redesign of community engagement and recruitment practices. Co-produced publications in leading social-work journals and presentations to professional conferences are spreading these lessons nationally. We have also contributed to national ARC Social Care events to share learning. Building Skills and Confidence in the Workforce - More than 40 social care professionals have received structured research training through internships, fellowships and the new REAL (Research, Evaluation, Audit and Literature) Course co-designed with Hampshire County Council, and participants are already leading improvement projects - evaluating recruitment practices, developing databases of community activities and strengthening induction and mentoring for new staff. Feedback shows greater confidence, better use of evidence in daily decision-making and stronger retention through professional pride. Joint projects between universities and councils have changed how services are planned and delivered for example: Day Services for Adults with Learning Disabilities research informed Hampshire County Council’s strategic plan. In Portsmouth the Single-Handed Care Review enabled efficiency savings while maintaining safety and quality. Research Champions and a Researcher in Residence worked with voluntary organisations including Help and Care and MYTIME to explore the needs of unpaid carers, including young carers and those supporting a loved one waiting for a dementia diagnosis known as the Waiting Well Project which included an exhibition at Poole Arts Centre in January -February 2026 highlighting the challenges carers face. Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch (BCP) & Dorset County Dr Natalie Djohari Dr Andy Pulman Winchester - Hampshire County Dr Rachel Harrison Southampton - City Dr Michelle Myall Portsmouth - City Dr Amy Drahota Anchor 1 Anchor 1 Anchor 1 Anchor 1 Anchor 2 Download report Our Post-Doctoral Fellows Dr Andy Pulman Bournemouth University Dr Natalie Djohari Bournemouth University Dr Amy Drahota University of Portsmouth Dr Michelle Myall University of Southampton Dr Rachel Harrison University of Winchester ARC Wessex and CRN Wessex pulled together to expand research into social care. Four researchers were funded to work with local councils in Dorset, Portsmouth, Southampton and Hampshire. Senior Research Fellow Doctor Michelle Myall was named researcher-in-residence at Southampton City Council. Amy Drahota worked with Portsmouth City Council, Andy Pulman with Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Council and Dorset Council and Rachel Harrison with Hampshire County Council. The researchers came from the Universities in Southampton, Bournemouth, Winchester and Portsmouth. Research projects included issues like domestic abuse and social care workforce capacity. Funding also supported development of Research Champions within councils to work with the four research leads. The social care research champions were existing employees from the councils concerned. The specific focus of the role differed by the individual council and its needs. There was opportunity for learning for all involved, to understand more about what support is needed to enable growth in social care research. Publications from this work: Pulman, A. and Fenge, L.A. 2024. The Evolving Workplace: The Possible Impacts of Hybrid Working and Hotdesking on Retention of Social Workers. The British Journal of Social Work. Volume 54, Issue 8. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcae120 Pulman, A., Fenge, L.A., Mazarura, P. and Sanis, N. 2024. Struggling with studying and earning – realities of the UK's cost-of-living crisis on students on social work programmes. Research in Post-Compulsory Education (co-writing with research champions Trsih and Neil) https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2024.2403825 Pulman, A., Sloan, H. and Fenge, L.A. 2024 (in press). Advocacy in Practice: Who Advocates for the Advocates? Practice - Social Work in Action. (co-writing with PPIE strategy group representative Helen) https://doi.org/10.1080/09503153.2024.2410851 Pulman, A. and Fenge, L.A., 2024. Impacts of Workplace Stress on the Retention of Social Workers: A Qualitative Study. Practice - Social Work in Action. https://doi.org/10.1080/09503153.2024.2429085 May 15, 2025, 12:00 Dr Rachel Harrison - Empowering Voices: How Research Can Enhance Lives for People with Learning Disabilities | More June 19, 2025, 12:00 Helen Sloan - Person centred approaches, advocacy and community engagement in research and social care | More July 17, 2025, 12:00 Dr Andy Pulman - Developing carer research capacity in Wessex September 18, 2025, 12:00 Dr Natalie Djohari - Capacity Building in Career Research If you missed an online seminar see below for the recordings Social Care Lunchtime Seminars Social Care Lunchtime Seminars Play Video Share Whole Channel This Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Search videos Search video... Now Playing Social Care lunchtime seminar #15 Recruitment and retention on Adult Social Care 55:38 Play Video Now Playing Social Care lunchtime seminar #14 38:45 Play Video Now Playing Social Care lunchtime seminar #13_Internships 39:33 Play Video Now Playing Social Care lunchtime Seminar 19 9 25 - Rachel Harrison 53:44 Play Video Seminar presentation Presenters Seminar Zoom links Seminar 2 - Andy Pullman Download PowerPoints Set one - Practitioner data Set two - HEI data summar Set three - Methodology Speakers Professor Lee-ann Fenge - Professor of Social Care in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bournemouth University and CRN and ARC Wessex lead on Social Care Dr Andy Pullman - ARC Wessex Post Doctoral Fellow - Bournemouth University Here's how to join Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84574755038?pwd=dHZ4RHNSMmpIQlNLNW41cnptUzZ3Zz09 Meeting ID: 845 7475 5038 Passcode: 058408 Our research projects COMPLETED SOCIAL CARE: Building Bridges: Elevating Research Culture in Social Care through Collaboration, Qualitative Insight and Relationship-Driven Impact Read more ADOPTED: FLOWS Planning for Frailty: Optimal Health and Social Care Workforce Organisation Using Demand-led Simulation Modelling Read more SOCIAL CARE: Evaluation of Southampton City Council’s Male Engagement Worker (MEW) Project Read more COMPLETED SOCIAL CARE: Building capacity in social care through co-produced research and a research learning partnership between University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth City Council Read more COMPLETED SOCIAL CARE: Local Authority Adult Social Care Recruitment and Retention research project (BCP/Dorset) Read more Dorset projecr

Implementation Our dedicated focus on implementation planning has enhanced the uptake and impact of ARC projects. Through a joint leadership role with Health Innovation Wessex, and close working with our partners, including Wessex Health Partners, our ICSs, health and care providers and our higher education partners, researchers have been supported to foster connections and networking critical to implementation success. Stakeholders (such as clinicians and commissioners) have been engaged early in the research cycle to understand the factors that will support the adoption of research. Our implementation team has provided implementation advice, co-developed implementation plans and advised on grant applications. An implementation checklist was developed to assist researchers in planning for implementation at the outset of their projects Other resources | NIHR ARC Wessex. Our partnership with Health Innovation Wessex has benefitted understanding of how to optimise the impact of ARC innovations and research findings , and has led to several joint programmes of work including research in optimising the use of medicines , the Wessex NHS Insights Prioritisation Programme (NIPP) , a review of the evidence for community based falls prevention , and development of a Workforce Evaluation Toolkit. Our medicines optimisation programme was founded on a deep understanding of system priorities, resulting in research questions that addressed system priorities and successful implementation of the findings and new resources. Our evaluations of digital remote monitoring for people with frailty in Wessex, and our joint evidence review of community based falls prevention in England with ARC South West Peninsula, provided insights into the implementation of innovation in practice and have been widely disseminated. Our policy brief on falls prevention , published in 2025, describes lessons for implementation from several ARC implementation studies of falls prevention programmes to benefit commissioners, providers and the public. Ageing, dementia & frailty priority | NIHR ARC Wessex . And in response to an expressed need from our system partners for help with evaluating change in the workplace, we produced an evaluation framework and toolkit to guide what to evaluate, how to ask evaluation questions and ways to measure change (In development). In October 2024, we launched our knowledge mobilisation programme and recruited a team of four knowledge mobilisation fellows, enabling us to develop expertise in this area and amplify awareness of the importance of knowledge mobilisation for research impact. The ARC Wessex implementation strategy focuses on addressing the gap between projects that validate an innovation at a single and/or single group of sites and adoption of that innovation by the wider health and social care system. Sustainable system implementation is not a linear pipeline process, but a dynamic interaction between health and care research, commissioning and delivery at multiple points in the innovation cycle. What we do The ARC Wessex Implementation Team has developed a workflow, including an implementation checklist, that is applied to the entire ARC Wessex portfolio. Our workflow includes initial implementation advice to help researchers complete the proposal form, reviewing the ARC proposals, and providing follow-up support to successful projects (advice only or in-depth). For in-depth support, we co-develop detailed implementation plans with the project leads. All projects have access to implementation resources. As well, we actively contribute to the development of materials for the ARC Wessex PhD fellowship programme, including teaching sessions. Collaborating with Wessex AHSN focuses on bringing AHSN criteria or staff into the ARC funding process, making initial contacts in the NHS for ARC portfolio projects (when appropriate), continuing active working on specific projects and contributing to upcoming proposals. The Implementation Team also offers support to each ARC-funded project implementation champion (IC). ICs are not necessarily researchers, are located within, or can readily connect with, the relevant setting(s) where the project findings will have relevance. The IC promotes knowledge of the project, facilitate conversations about its implications and promotes translation. See details of the Wessex NHS Insights Prioritisation Programme Project (NIPP) in conjunction with the Ageing and Dementia theme and AHSN Wessex our team Our team Philippa Darnton Implementation Lead ARC Wessex Profile Dr Michelle Myall Senior Research and Implementation Fellow Profile

ARC Wessex is part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research. We conduct research together with universities, health and care services, the NHS, charities, people and patients to improve the lives of people in our community. Read about Vikki's work with dementia patients Latest news Moving Beyond 12 Hour Shifts: How Evidence is Powering Change Have you forgotten me - bridging the gap with dementia diagnosis Thanking patients and the public for helping shape our research Compromise shifts the balance for nurses ARC research heads to Westminster to talk about the challenges of over-prescribing medicines. Research input to influence NHS 10 year workforce plan Read more NIHR ARC Wessex in numbers 200+ Members 100+ Academy members £18M Invested in research 155 Research projects How can we help? For professionals & researchers Read more For public & patients Read more For training & development Read more

Mental Health Hub Aim: To build applied health research capability and capacity to enable research-led mental health services across the lifespan in pressing areas of mental health linked to substantial health inequalities in our region. Objectives: Strengthening Wessex’s capacity and capability to conduct high quality mental health research in populations with high mental health burden Working collaboratively with a range of organisations and the public to address current mismatch between mental health research need and evidence-based health, care, and public service response Enhancing capacity and capability of mental health services to incorporate findings of research into care pathways, so improving the effectiveness, efficiency, safety and quality of mental health care and commissioning of mental health services. Our research projects Developing Pathways for older adults who are also drinking at increased-risk levels Older adults Alcohol Pathway (OAP) Read more Gambling and Alcohol Use Addiction in Military Veterans Read more Comparative Effectiveness of Methylphenidate vs. Second‑ and Third‑Line Medications for Children with Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Read more Social Prescribing Link Workers framework: supporting complex needs of adults living with physical and mental health long term conditions Read more Identifying the knowledge gaps of paramedics managing patients with mental health issues Read more ADOPTED: Gambling in the UK: An analysis of data from individuals seeking treatment at the NHS Southern Gambling Service Read more COMPLETED: Understanding psychosocial determinants of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in older adults: exploring the role of social networks and loneliness in living with AUD (OLA study 2). Read more COMPLETED: Development of a core outcome set for nurse wellbeing: a Delphi study Read more COMPLETED: Work lives and Wellbeing of Mental Health Nursing Workforce Read more COMPLETED: Understanding, addressing, and meeting the complex needs of people living with long term physical and mental health conditions: a qualitative study Read more Pharmacological And Non-Pharmacological treatment of ADHD in Pre-schoolers: a systematic review and network meta-analysis: the PANPAP study Read more Adolescent Resilience to OVercome Adversity: EmpoweRment and intervention development – the ROVER study Read more COMPLETED: Mental health Burden of Increased Living costs: Local Support (My BILLS) Read more COMPLETED: Understanding the psychosocial needs and trajectories of older adults (>64 years) with alcohol use disorder (AUD) from hospital back into community Read more Mental health projects Mental Health Hub lead Professor Sam Chamberlain Mental Health Hub lead Ageing and Dementia - promotion of healthy ageing by implementing and evaluating strategies to address alcohol use disorder, loneliness, and isolation. Workstream co-leads: Professor Julia Sinclair Healthy Communities - developing, implementing and evaluating strategies to identify young people at risk of mental health conditions (including addictions like alcohol & gambling), promote early intervention and successful care transitions and bolster resilience. Workstream co-leads: Professor Samuele Cortese and Professor Anne-Sophie Darlington Long-Term Conditions - enhancing evidence-based support for those with long term mental health disorders, like treatment-resistant anxiety and depression, and approaches to mobilising community systems of support and fostering resilience, including social prescribing. Workstream co-leads: Professor MC Portillo and Professor David Baldwin Workforce and Health Systems - develop and test evidence-based interventions matched to staff need and the organisational and professional context, to promote mental health, wellbeing and resilience in workforce providing care and treatment to people with mental health problems. Workstream co-leads: Dr Natasha Campling and Associate Professor Ursula Rolfe Our Post-Doctoral Fellows Laila Khawaja Research Fellow Profile Miguel Garcia-Argibay Senior Research Fellow Profile Gabrielle Palermo Senior Research Assistant Profile Stephanie Hughes Research Fellow Profile Skaiste Linceviciute Research Fellow Profile Francesca Zecchinato Research Fellow Profile Mental Health Play Video All Videos

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d6d7fb08-5eb7-4cab-afcf-359d64b8fe12 COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: Young people’s barriers to mental health services ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us.

402a4c2a-6e60-4ba0-ab22-b08ca49f80a9 Deprescribing and Optimisation of Medicines IN Older people with Heart Failure and Frailty (DOMINO-HFF) Chief Investigator: Dr Eloise Radcliffe, Senior Research Fellow School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton Team: Dr Kinda Ibrahim, Associate Professor, School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton Dr Sara Mckelvie, Clinical lecturer, School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton. Dr Stephen Lim, Principal Clinical Research Fellow, Consultant Geriatrician, Medicine for Older People, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton General Hospital. Dr Chris Young, Consultant Geriatrician, Medicine for Older People, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton General Hospital. Dr Nina Fudge, Lecturer, Centre for Primary Care, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London. Dr James Sheppard, Associate Professor, Nuffield Dept of Primary Care Health Sciences, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford. Mrs Clare Howard, Clinical Lead for Medicines Optimisation, Health Innovation Wessex. Prof Simon Fraser, Professor of Public Health, School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education,Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton. Dr Peter Cowburn, Consultant Cardiologist, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, General Hospital. Ms Rajneesh Kaur, Patient and carer representative . Partners: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, University of Southampton, Health Innovation Wessex, Queen Mary University of London, University of Oxford. Start: 1 October 2024 End: 31 March 2026 Background Heart failure ( HF) is a long-term disease with symptoms including breathlessness, tiredness and leg swelling. HF is more likely to affect older people and is the leading cause for hospital admission in the UK for those aged over 65 years. Most people with HF have other health conditions therefore taking multiple medication is common. Guidelines for doctors to treat HF recommending multiple medications to help improve symptoms and help people live longer, have led to concerns about further increases in numbers of medication for patients. The application of these guidelines in older adults has had the unintended problem of more complex medication regimes, and possible impacts on physical ability and quality of life. More generally, taking multiple medication can increase risk of side-effects, hospital admission and death for older people. The research studies used to decide guidelines for doctors to treat HF, may underestimate the risks of taking multiple medicines as they do not include populations most vulnerable to potential harms such as older adults and those with frailty. This leads to uncertainty about the long-term benefits and risks of HF medications in the very old and frail populations who are, nonetheless, still treated based on the guidelines. Prescribing should ideally be tailored to each patient’s health condition and their preferences. These factors will change over time, supporting the need for regular medication reviews, and where appropriate, the need for reducing, stopping, or switching drugs in order to improve outcomes. However, this may be challenging due to the lack of research studies, as patients and multiple health care professionals involved in caring for older patients with HF, may experience uncertainty and have differing approaches to the application of the guidelines. Aim To examine research studies on prescribing and deprescribing of HF medication in older people, including those living with frailty. This will inform current guidelines for doctors to treat HF. It will also identify gaps in the research on this vulnerable group commonly prescribed HF medication, but at the greatest risk of experiencing harms linked with taking multiple medications. Design and methods Two literature searches will be carried out, guided by an information specialist librarian, following the established guidelines. Patient, public and community involvement This study has patient and public involvement (PPI) throughout. We will have PPI group of older people and carers living with HF, chaired by our PPI lead who is also a research team member and has contributed to study development. The group will contribute to the interpretation andcommunication of findings on a wider scale. Dissemination Findings will be promoted to the wider research and local clinical community through ARC Wessex networks and our links with Health Innovation Wessex , and in journal publications and conference presentations. We will also promote findings through the links that we will make with local and national charities such as Age UK Southampton, Wessex Heartbeat and the British Heart Foundation.

b369496b-453f-489e-9d44-7a954ac3f6d7 COMPLETED: Symptoms, Trajectory, Inequalities and Management: Understanding Long-COVID to Address and Transform Existing Integrated Care Pathways (STIMULATE) This project is part of a national consortium Contact: Professor Nisreen Alwan MBE , University of Southampton Currently in England, there are 90 specialist Post Covid services in which assessment and treatment of Long Covid, and other complications of COVID-19, are informed by NICE guidelines and growing expertise in the field. However, there is evidence that access to such clinics and related care pathways, the nature of those pathways, and patient experience, varies. Research is required to inform diagnosis, care, public health strategies, policy planning, resource allocation and budgeting. It is likewise essential to define the usual care pathway in Post Covid services, and to understand patient presentation, and the effectiveness and cost of care. The STIMULATE-ICP consortium includes: University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, University College London, University of Central Lancashire, LongCovidSOS, UK Doctors #Longcovid , Royal College of General Practitioners, University of Liverpool, Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust, Perspectum, Living With, University of Hull, Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust, University of York, University of Leicester, University of Exeter, University of Southampton, University of Sussex, Alliance Medical, GE Healthcare, Olink, Francis Crick Institute, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North Thames, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Yorkshire and Humber, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast, British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre, BHF Data Science Centre, Health Data Research UK, Office of National Statistics, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust, as well as NIHR Clinical Research Network support. Plain English Summary of findings: 23 interviews were completed with people with probable Long Covid We found… There was a lack of awareness of Long Covid, its symptoms and the support available for people with Long Covid An assumed lack of awareness of Long Covid within healthcare People with Long Covid symptoms experienced doubt and uncertainty about the cause of their symptoms Experiences of stigma and discrimination were commonly experienced by people with probable Long Covid. This included experiences of age and gender discrimination, experiences of being dismissed, unsympathetic attitudes and social exclusion. People with probable Long Covid reported feeling embarrassment, feeling tainted and/or different to others because of their Long Covid symptoms. In addition, they expected disbelief and/or judgement from others because of Long Covid People with Long Covid were sometimes reluctant to seek care due to worries surrounding possible investigations and medications, or worries about symptoms being wholly attributed to mental health conditions. There were also concerns about burdening the NHS. The nature of Long Covid symptoms made accessing care difficult. Long Covid symptoms can often come and go or fluctuate, and sometimes one symptom may be more prominent than others. This can mean some symptoms can be overlooked by patients and healthcare professionals. Experiences of people with Long Covid are also constitute epistemic injustice, or inequality surrounding creating, interpreting and conveying knowledge. This is due to the lack of awareness and knowledge of Long Covid both in the community and within healthcare. What we did Research findings from this study and the NIHR funded HICOVE study have been translated into an easily-usable webtool. This tool aims to encourage people with probable Long Covid who have not yet sought help and support from the NHS or other services to do so. It covers topics of self-doubt, stigma and effects on mental health as well as offering resources, tips, and advice on next steps. This tool is primarily aimed at people who may have Long Covid but are not currently accessing care but may also be helpful to those who are. It is also aimed at healthcare professionals, social prescribers, as well as community organisations to raise awareness about the difficulties and stigma people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, may face when considering reaching out for a consultation or community support. The webtool is available here: Supporting Long Covid Care ( long-covid-care.org.uk ) Where next? We are working on disseminating the Supporting Long Covid Care webtool as widely as possible. We will create an offline version of the tool so this is accessible to people who are not ‘online’. We will also include translations of this into community languages. This will be available to download from the website and from community organisations. We are also looking at ways to evaluate the webtool. See our news article

62657f5f-1a8d-4fc4-8b32-bd364cb93d3a ADOPTED PROJECT - PREMAC 2 STUDY Development and application of Patient Report Experience Measure for patients accessing ACute oncology services: Aim This study will test a newly designed patient report experience measure (PREM) questionnaire for acute oncology (AO) across three NHS Trusts. Objectives The study will test: i) the acceptability of the PREM instrument to patients; ii) how well the PREM questionnaire performs, its validity and reliability, when completed by patients who have received care from different clinical teams; iii) the capability of the PREM instrument to identify variations of patient experience between participating trusts, and; iv) how easily the PREM questionnaire can be used to collect information across several trusts that might deliver services in different ways. Background People with cancer often need to access AO services for serious problems caused by their disease or treatment. Although trusts are required to obtain feedback from patients who receive AO services, there is currently accepted way of collecting this information. A preceding study, the PREMAC study, designed the new PREM questionnaire that we will test in this subsequent study. Design and Methods The study will include three NHS Trusts, and a sample of at least 100 completed responses will be required for statistical analysis from each site. Patients who have accessed AO services will be sent an electronic link to the questionnaire by text message or email, between one and two weeks following their care. Participants will be eligible if they: have a confirmed diagnosis of cancer; are 18 years old and above; have sought urgent care/advice for problems for cancer or its treatment; have accessed AO service via a triage helpline, a bespoke AO unit or via ED. Only anonymised information will be collected from respondents. Study outputs The main study output will be a validated PREM, which can be used to explore and benchmark the quality of AO services at trusts across England with different service delivery models.

6dc4c269-ddb7-41c3-afd8-8173c69a4651 ADOPTED ActMed-VW - Healthcare professional's experiences of Access to Medication for people on Virtual Wards who are in their last year of life Virtual wards provide acute, hospital-level care in an individual’s own home, rather than in a hospital or hospice. They are also known as Hospital at Home services. We know that virtual wards can care for people who are in their last year of life. For individuals approaching the end of life, control of symptoms requires prompt access to medication. We know access to palliative care medication can be challenging in the community. There have also been reports of difficulty accessing medication on virtual wards; however, it is not known if there are specific issues accessing palliative care medications on virtual wards. This study aims to investigate access to medication for adults on virtual wards who are in their last year of life. We aim to understand the experiences of healthcare professionals so that we can make recommendations on how to improve access to medication in the future. We will ask healthcare professionals working in virtual wards to answer questions in an online survey. We will ask doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health professionals such as physiotherapists to complete the survey. We will ask them about what works well and what does not. We will ask them about the challenges they have faced, and what would help them to minimise or eradicate these. We will also interview 20 healthcare staff. This will include both professionals who completed the survey and individuals who oversee the management of virtual ward services. We will explore in more detail examples of good practice and the processes that need to be in place to ensure straightforward, fast access to medication. We will consult with clinical and policy experts on potential solutions to the challenges identified in the study findings. We will also work with these experts to develop recommendations for policy and practice. Project team includes: Co-PI - Dr Nicola Andrews Co-PI - Prof Sue Latter Co-I Dr Natasha Campling Co-I Dr Sara McKelvie Research Fellow Dr Dan Aze

bd368e62-bd41-4d7a-a7ea-673ea3582964 ADOPTED PROJECT: High Harm Domestic Violence Perpetrator Pilot Evaluation Chief Investigator: Dr Sara Morgan – University of Southampton Project Team Members: Mrs Katerina Porter – University of Southampton, Mrs Fiona Maxwell – University of Southampton, Professor Julie Parkes – University of Southampton Organisations Involved: Hampshire County Council, Hampshire Constabulary, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Hampshire, The Home Office, Hampton Trust Background data Domestic violence & abuse remains a pressing public health concern In the UK, 18% of adults aged 16+ have experienced domestic abuse from an intimate partner 1 In Southampton, domestic abuse accounts for 33% of violent crime Methods Analysis of routinely-collected anonymised quantitative data on all individuals meeting the Operation’s inclusion criteria (n=321) Interviews with key professionals (n=12) 11,751 individuals identified as perpetrators of domestic abuse in 2 policing districts over 14 months 131 individuals included in the Operation Foundation cohort, for allocation to High-Harm Teams, who attempt to engage perpetrators into a specialist behaviour change programme, ADAPT Results Operation Foundation identifies the domestic abuse perpetrators who pose the highest risk of the highest harm to their victims, and most require Police attention 10% of the Operation Foundation cohort were referred to ADAPT 2% of the cohort completed the ADAPT programme over 24 weeks High-Harm Team officers used new working practices to attempt to engage perpetrators and provide support to make healthy behaviour changes Where perpetrators were unwilling or unable to engage with the behaviour change intervention, High-Harm Team officers relentlessly pursued those perpetrators to disrupt their potential to pose a risk to their victims Qualitative data from High-Harm Team officers suggests that the Operation Foundation method had had positive and worthwhile effects regarding reoffending rates and reduction in risk to victims Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the Operation Foundation method CONTACT: k.a.porter@soton.ac.uk s.a.morgan@soton.ac.uk REFERENCES: 1. Robinson, A. L. and Clancy, A. (2017). New initiatives to tackle domestic violence using the Priority Perpetrator Identification Tool (PPIT). Cardiff: Cardiff University. 2. Crime Survey for England & Wales, 2022 3. Southampton Data Observatory, 2022 4. ADAPT programme, run by Hampton Trust

Rajneesh Kaur and Eloise Radcliffe < Back PPI reflection on experience in attending an academic conference "Prescribing and deprescribing is something we do to patients so their viewpoint does matter." Rajneesh Kaur and Eloise Radcliffe Picture: Kinda Ibrahim, Eloise Radliffe, Nina Fudge, Jalpa and Rajneesh Kaur In September 2024 I attended an International Conference on Deprescribing in France (ICOD2). I'd been looking forward to this event since first coming to know of it about a year before. When registering for the conference it stated that they welcomed all 'researchers, clinicians and teachers in the deprescribing field'. This prompted me to email the organisers to ask if I could attend as a non-healthcare professional. They were very welcoming and reassured me that anyone can attend. I was excited not only to see what was happening at the cutting edge of deprescribing but also because I was going to meet the Southampton team in person for the first time at the conference. We had communicated over Teams before but the conference was a great way to meet each other in person. We recognised each other straight away and were in close company over the two days at the conference. The actual content of the conference reconsolidated a lot of what I had learnt about deprescribing so far. It was great to see leading figures deliver live and to be able to ask questions and have conversations with them. When mingling in the workshops and over lunch, people were interested to gain our perspective — I was attending with a good friend of mine who is also a non-healthcare professional like me, but as she is a solicitor, the healthcare professionals at the conference seemed very interested in the legal angle of deprescribing when speaking to my friend. This legal area does need exploring I feel. The viewpoint of patients and carers seemed like something the healthcare professionals valued, yet I felt it was under-represented in the conference. Prescribing and deprescribing is something we do to patients so their viewpoint does matter. I enjoyed listening to the presentation from David Gardner in particular, who shared a patient's experience, with the patient (George) interacting live on the call. This really brought to life how deprescribing can make a difference. Bringing the patient's perspective forward can bring inspiration and motivation to healthcare professionals to be more comfortable with stepping into the unknown and trying something new. I also appreciated that the conference organisers were trying to be open and ethical about their funding, especially pleased that they were not accepting funding from pharmaceutical companies. This made it seem OK that we didn't have any extravagant lunch arrangements, I'd rather that and keep the soul of the conference alive. Also, my friend and I were humbled and surprised to see that every other person at the conference was a pharmacist. It was almost as if after working with medication so closely, these pharmacists realise the harm as well as the good that medicines can do and therefore have come to the conference to understand and acknowledge the importance and challenges of deprescribing. Although deprescribing should be a part of prescribing, it is practised far less than prescribing. In fact, I would say that the benefits of deprescribing are just now being realised and are not mainstream at all. As a result, it seemed very challenging when I first set out looking for pathways to come off medication safely and only then eventually even came across the term deprescribing. The conference was international and it opened doors to meet people from other countries who were on the same page. I especially remember my encounter with a researcher from Denmark who said something very profound, she explained that it's not the patients that need educating, if we make a safe space where people can be deprescribed from medication — they will come. This researcher had struggles with a loved one who is on medication. This conference was a great platform to network and strengthen beliefs in deprescribing. It was only the second international conference ever held on this topic and I am very much looking forward to ICOD3 Eloise: One of the highlights of attending the International Conference on Deprescribing in Nantes, France, was meeting Rajneesh in-person, our highly valued and very engaged Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) team member. She has been a PPI group member of the ARC Wessex-funded MODIFY study (Medication review and deprescribing intervention for older people living with frailty in primary care) and is now chairing the PPI group for a new ARC Wessex-funded study DOMINO-HF (Deprescribing and medicines optimisation in older people with heart failure). I had previously only met her online and the conference was a great opportunity to talk in-person about the presentations and workshops by international leaders in the field of deprescribing and discuss Rajneesh’s ideas for future projects. The conference was a very welcoming and supportive environment and I would definitely agree with Rajneesh that more patients and caregivers should be represented at the conference, and will hopefully be encouraged to attend and participate in the next one, ICOD3 in 2 years time! Previous Next