This is a follow-up to our previous work (2005-10), which evaluated mildly abnormal liver function test results in patients with no known liver disease. The aim is to compare various outcomes (inpatient admissions, outpatient appointments, A&E attendance, death) in people who did or did not have fatty livers in the original study, to gain a better understanding of longer-term health outcomes.

The aim of this research is to establish whether specialised Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injures (OASIS) clinics diagnose and treat post-birth injuries sooner. We are investigating this by focusing on three questions: [1] Does having an OASIS clinic reduce the length of time between giving birth and having a post-birth injury operation? [2] Does having an OASIS clinic increase the number of day case operations as a percentage of the total? [3] Are patients travelling further to a trust with an OASIS clinic in order to have their post-birth operation?

We are focussing on neonatal jaundice assessments in the community, looking at both transcutaneous bilirubin and serum bilirubin results and establishing any trends. In addition, we are looking at whether transcutaneous testing can reduce the need for invasive serum bilirubin testing and plan to use the findings to influence the design of a new clinical pathway.

Over the past ten years, the number of food banks and the number of food parcels they dispense has increased every year. The aim of this project is to investigate the relationship between the existence of food banks and the risk of diseases of poverty, particularly malnutrition, using geostatistical modelling.

Following on from our previous work looking at the uptake of recommendations made in Health Technology Reports, we plan to track changes over time in uptake for six further trials. This study is in the early stages and will provide further insight into the effects of HTA recommendations.

There are three main aims in this study: [1] to describe trends in emergency admissions for heart failure and subsequent readmissions within 30 days; [2] to analyse whether these trends vary by age, sex, ethnic group or deprivation; [3] to establish key predictive factors for 30-day readmissions split by cause and by time window. First draft of this manuscript is currently being written. Analysis for this project is underway, in collaboration with ARC East Midlands.

Compared to other ethnicities, South Asians have remarkably higher risks of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Diabetes is about three times more prevalent in South Asians than in White Europeans and occurs over a decade earlier. South Asians with diabetes are also at increased risk of diabetes complications and have a higher mortality rate from coronary heart disease and stroke. Our aim is to investigate contemporary trends by ethnicity of several cardiovascular outcomes and life expectancy in people with and without type 2 diabetes. Analysis for this project is underway, in collaboration with ARC East Midlands.

Hospitals in England receive a financial incentive to vaccinate frontline staff against influenza each autumn. We are examining data to find any evidence of a threshold effect at the uptake level which triggers a CQUIN payment. We are working towards a final draft of this manuscript.

We are undertaking a nationwide study to compare the outcomes of NHS patients undergoing routine operations in NHS hospitals vs Independent Sector Healthcare Providers (ISHPs). The aim is to describe and examine differences in length of stay and 28-day emergency readmissions between provider types. We are working towards a final draft of this manuscript.