West Midlands Ambulance Service’s Research Team, in partnership with the University of Warwick, have won a top award at the Clinical Research Network Awards in Wolverhampton.
The team took the top prize in the Innovation of the Year category, for the work they have done on the PACKMaN study (Paramedic Analgesia Comparing Ketamine and MorphiNe in trauma). The study is looking at ketamine versus morphine for pre-hospital patients with traumatic pain. Ketamine, is a strong painkiller already used by paramedics in other parts of the world, whilst morphine is also a strong painkiller, commonly used by UK paramedics.
The award was given following the changes that were made to training, data collection and consent processes for the trial following the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions.
The team were able to offer completely remote consultations through Teams and used electronic consent forms in place of traditional paper forms.
It’s fantastic to be recognised by the Clinical Research Network for the work we do to improve evidence-based care of our patients.
These practices have extended into other studies taking up electronic documentation, simplifying and speeding up the collection and storage processes.
Thank you to all staff who supported the stages from logistics to operations, we really couldn’t do our research work without them.
Imogen Gunson, WMAS Research Manager
It has been a great pleasure to work alongside the ambulance service on a trial which has been able to implement remote consenting so effectively.
We are grateful to the CRN West Midlands for recognising how this work will advance the way in which consent can be obtained for further studies. Thank you to everyone who has played an integral role in the PACKMaN trial.
Dr. Hannah Noordali, Clinical Trial Manager, University of Warwick
You can read more about the PACKMaN study, and other research projects being conducted by West Midlands Ambulance Service on the Research Projects page of our website.