Heather Willis, a Research Nurse at Good Hope Hospital, has been working on the frontline, delivering urgent public health research during the pandemic. Her experience has reinforced her views that research makes a real difference to patients' lives and is best delivered as part of a team. Her experience focuses on the RECOVERY-RS trial and forms part of NIHR's COVID-19 Research Voices series. You can read more here.

Phil was hospitalised with COVID-19 in early April 2020. Struggling to breathe, he was grateful to have the chance to take part in the RECOVERY-RS trial and hoped he would be able to help other people as a result. He tells his story here.

As part of the COVID-19 NIHR Research Voices series, Dr Jay Naisbitt, PI at Fairfield General Hospital and Consultant in Intensive Care medicine provides an insight in to the benefits of participating in RECOVERY-RS. Integrating this trial into routine clinical practice has facilitated patient recruitment and boosted morale across the team.

Dr Naisbitt explains it was clear the evidence base supports a position of equipoise (where it is unknown which treatment is likely to be better). When the team first took part in this research in April they had thought CPAP would be the way forward but now there is uncertainty which treatment will prove to have the best outcome for patients. Therefore, it is important to take part in this trial to overcome innate bias and provide the real evidence we need to inform decisions and treatments regarding ventilation strategies for COVID-19 patients.

Read more here: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/blog/covid19researchvoices-the-multi-fold-benefits-of-integrating-research-in-standard-care/25145 

RECOVERY-RS is supported and funded by the NIHR. The trial is considered an urgent public health study by the UK's Chief Medical Officers and is supported by the Intensive Care Society and the British Thoracic Society.

If you are unsure whether you can take part in RECOVERY-RS as a site watch this video for further information and contact recovery-rs@warwick.ac.uk today to express your interest in becoming a site.

Click here to listen to Dr Bronwen Connolly outline the trial, the eligibility criteria, the key process features, the trial flexibility and how your site can take part for the Royal College of Physicians.

RECOVERY-RS (Respiratory Support) trial has been nationally prioritised as an Urgent Public Health Study.

The NIHR is playing a critical role in funding, enabling and delivering research into COVID-19 which RECOVERY-RS is a part of. This trial is important in identifying ventilation methods that may be benefit adults hospitalised with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. There is currently insufficient evidence to indicate which method is most effective.

Urgent Public Health research is research that is prioritised by the Chief Medical Officer with upmost important to take place during the emergency phase of the pandemic and will deliver an impact within 12 months. This research will gather evidence to inform national policy.