A team at Warwick Medical School’s Clinical Trials Unit have won a prestigious award at the Clinical Research Network Awards, alongside colleagues from the West Midlands Ambulance Service.

The team, who have been leading the PACKMaN study (Paramedic Analgesia Comparing Ketamine and MorphiNe in trauma), took the top prize in the Innovation of the Year category at the CRN West Midlands Awards. The study is looking at the use of 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 commonly used by paramedics in the UK.

The award was presented in recognition of 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.

Dr Hannah Noordali, Clinical Trial Manager at WMS, said: “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.”

You can read more about the PACKMaN study here.