110 HealtH Matters
HealtH researCH
HOW RESEARCH CAN lEAD
TO IMPROVED PATIENT CARE
AND TECHNOlOGy TO MAKE
lIfE EASIER
The Health Research Board
(HRB) is the lead funder of
e
very day, members of staff across in healthcare has the potential to come
the health services are faced with up with new concepts, ideas and
challenges. these can range from juggling practices that will help improve patient
health research in Ireland. Here,
a complicated caseload to finding a patient care or the way that care is delivered in
HRB Chief Executive Enda record, or from understanding what is our health system.
Connolly explains how research
causing an illness, to making a patient as the lead funder of health research
more comfortable while they are cared for. in Ireland, every year the HRB receives
can lead to improvements in
Often people are simply too busy just applications for funding for projects from
the way we deliver care, better getting through their workload to think a wide range of health professionals
understanding about a disease
about how they could make doing the job including nurses, physiotherapists, ICt
easier. research can play an important departments as well as doctors and
or the introduction of technology
part here by helping identify problem laboratory scientists. they all have ideas.
to make life easier. areas and providing the evidence to make they all want to understand how to do
informed decisions about what can be things better – whether it is changing the
done about these problems. way you deliver care, understanding more
People may think that research is about a disease or introducing technology
what happens in labs or relates only to to make life easier.
new treatments, products or diagnostics,
but this simply isn’t true. everyone working a snapshOt Of what we mean…
Perinatal Ireland is a research collaboration
between eight of the principal maternity
hospitals across the island of Ireland.
the aim is to harness the combined
“everyone working in
experience of the medical teams in all of
these centres, along with the advanced
healthcare has the
images available from the HRB funded
equipment, to help improve outcomes for
potential to come up both mothers and babies.
with new concepts, ideas
A group of GPs led by Prof Andrew
Murphy, a GP in Galway, designed tailored
and practices that will
care plans for patients with heart disease.
Having patients follow this prevention
help improve patient programme has led to a reduction in
care or the way that care
hospital admissions for heart disease.
a group of health professionals at the
is delivered in our health
Mater Hospital in Dublin have developed
a new rapid access clinic where people at
system.” high risk of stoke can be treated before a
HM Iss6.1 p71-128.indd 110 12/03/2010 15:28:34
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