Blog posts

Forgotten Scientists

by Lindsay H. Dewa

“Certain people – men, of course – discouraged me, saying [science] was not a good career for women. That pushed me even more to persevere […] I was from the generation of 1968. It was a period of activism and women were demanding their rights.”
 Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Virologist,
Nobel Prize Winner for Physiology or Medicine 2008

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi is an inspiration to all women in science, determined to succeed despite discouragement and achieved the greatest honour in Science: a Nobel Prize. But, unfortunately, her bad experience in her earlier days as a scientist is still common amongst women today.

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Diagnosing Cancer

by Olga Kostopoulou

Cancer causes death to millions of people worldwide. Early detection of cancer in primary care can enhance patients’ chances of survival. However, detecting cancer early is no simple task. The symptoms can be vague and non-specific, and can be easily attributed to pre-existing or other, more common conditions. Attributing symptoms of bowel or ovarian cancer, such as abdominal distention and pain, to Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a frequent example. With funding from Cancer Research UK, we have been researching early cancer diagnosis for the last 5 years. When I started work in this area, I had assumed that cancer is always at the back of a GP’s mind. I found out that this was not necessarily the case. (more…)

Protocol for a Systematic Review of Patient Safety in Mental Health Published

by Beth Thibaut

Despite the growing international interest in patient safety as a discipline, there has been a lack of exploration of its application to mental health. It cannot be assumed that findings based upon physical health in acute care hospitals can be applied to mental health patients, disorders and settings.

A team of researchers within the Imperial College Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (PSTRC) recently published a systematic review protocol (D’Lima, D., Archer, S., Thibaut, B. I., Ramtale, S. C., Dewa, L. H., & Darzi, A. (2016). A systematic review of patient safety in mental health: a protocol based on the inpatient setting. Systematic Reviews, 5(1), 203). (more…)

Fourth Annual NIHR Imperial PSTRC/CPSSQ Symposium 2016

by Jo Seed

A diverse range of patient safety experts, NHS health service providers and members of the public gathered for the NIHR Imperial Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR Imperial PSTRC)/Centre for Patient Safety and Service Quality (CPSSQ) annual symposium on 28th September 2016.  The NIHR Imperial PSTRC, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), is a partnership between Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and comprises multidisciplinary teams of researchers working to improve patient safety in the NHS.

The symposium, now in its fourth year, aims to showcase examples of current research and to stimulate debate and discussion between researchers, healthcare professionals, members of the public and anyone with an interest in the safety and quality of healthcare. (more…)