Research

We are a Research Ready accredited practice.

At Nightingale Valley Practice, we are committed to providing the highest quality care for our patients, and research plays a vital role in helping us achieve this. Participating in medical research allows us to stay at the forefront of advancements in healthcare, ensuring that the treatments and services we offer are safe, effective, and tailored to the needs of our community.

We warmly invite all our patients to get involved in research. Your participation, whether through clinical studies, surveys, or patient feedback initiatives, helps us gain valuable insights that can improve care not only for you but for future generations. Engaging in research is a unique opportunity to contribute to the development of new treatments, better understand health conditions, and shape the future of general practice.

Joining research studies is entirely voluntary, and we encourage patients to explore opportunities at a pace that suits them. Whether you are curious about participating in ongoing studies or simply want to learn more about the research we conduct, your involvement makes a real difference.

Together, we can advance healthcare, strengthen our community, and ensure that the voice of every patient is hard in the development of innovative medical care.

The research team consists of:

  • Dr Katharine Alsop - Lead GP for Research
  • Olive Wood - Research/Advanced Nurse Practitioner
  • Jessie Hawkes - Administration Research Lead

Research Studies

CORAL

CORAL stands for COenzyme Q10 in heaRt fAiLure and is a clinical trial run by the Bristol Trials Centre at the University of Bristol.

Heart failure is a long-term condition that causes difficulty breathing, tiredness and leg swelling, which can all impact daily life. Between 10 and 15% of people over the age of 75 have heart failure and it is responsible for around 5% of all emergency hospital admissions. Most people with heart failure have two or more long-term medical conditions and usually take several different medicines every day.

Duration

Impact of duration of antibiotic therapy on effectiveness, safety and selection of antibiotic resistance in adult women with urinary tract infections (UTI): a randomised controlled trial.

Our main goal is to find to find the shortest antibiotic treatment duration needed to effectively treat urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women. We will measure this by seeing how many study participants stay healthy without needing more medical help for their utis up to 42 days after treatment.

IID3

The Third Infectious Intestinal Disease Study

In brief, the IID3 study design comprises three population-based studies: two prospective studies in Primary Care, and a microbiology study involving diagnostic and reference microbiology and AMR determination.

The research aims to address the question of whether the incidence of infectious intestinal disease (IID) in the community changed since the late 2000s.

INDIGO Community

Investigating Digital Outcomes in a community setting for patients living with and beyond a diagnosis of cancer. To understand more about the long-term outcomes and service use of patients living with and beyond a diagnosis of cancer. Phase II randomized feasibility research administering questionnaires in a mixed methods study.

Stabilise

The aim of this study is to provide an initial evaluation of a psychological therapy designed to address these ongoing symptoms. A total of 60 people (across two sites: Devon and Avon &Wiltshire NHS Trust) will be randomly allocated on a 1:1 ratio to receive either a novel psychological intervention for inter-episode bipolar symptoms plus usual care, or usual care only. 

Year-round virology swabs

Virology swabs are used to collect samples for the detection and identification of viruses, particularly respiratory viruses like influenza and COVID-19. They are crucial for virology surveillance, helping to track viral spread, assess vaccination effectiveness, and inform public health decisions.

These swabs must be within 10 days of symptom onset.