Welcome to my March blog. This month, I’d like to focus on the role of research and innovation and how this is helping us to improve patient outcomes, reduce inequalities, and support the shift towards more preventative, community-based care.

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining colleagues from across our system for a celebration of health and care research. Bringing together over 100 people—including clinicians, researchers, universities, and VCSE partners—the event was a valuable opportunity to reflect on the breadth of work underway and the difference it is making for our populations.

Research is not something separate from day-to-day care. At its best, it is embedded within it—informing how we prevent illness, design services, and deliver care more effectively. These priorities align closely with the direction set out in the NHS 10-year plan, and it was encouraging to see how strongly this is reflected in the work happening across Norfolk and Waveney.

We began the day with reflections from Professor Will Pope, who spoke about the importance of making research more accessible and representative of the communities we serve. Expanding opportunities to participate in research locally—particularly in community and primary care settings—helps ensure that evidence is relevant and that improvements in care are felt more equitably. This is something we are increasingly seeing across our system through a focus on collaboration, workforce development, and applying evidence to service change.

A particularly compelling example came from colleagues at the Breckland Alliance, who shared their research journey over the past decade. What began as individual GP practices working independently has grown into a collaborative model that shares expertise, risk and resource. This has now resulted in a £1 million award from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to establish a Primary Care Commercial Research Delivery Centre. This will improve access to clinical trials for people living in Norfolk and support fairer access to new treatments—helping people to live longer, healthier lives.

Throughout the day, workshops and discussions focused on practical ways to strengthen research across the system. This included how we involve patients and communities more meaningfully—particularly those who have traditionally been underrepresented in research. Partnerships with VCSE organisations are key here, helping us to ensure opportunities are inclusive and accessible.

We also heard about the importance of building research capacity—from supporting those starting out in their research careers through to equipping staff with the skills needed to deliver research as part of routine care.

One example that stood out was work led by Professor Debi Bhattacharya on reducing the use of long-term opioid medication. While opioids can play an important role in managing acute pain, their long-term use is associated with significant risks and limited benefit for many patients. By combining research evidence with the experience of clinicians and organisations across the system, a practical toolkit has been developed to support safer prescribing. The impact has been tangible: over the course of a year, more than 900 people in Norfolk have reduced or stopped opioid medications where they were no longer beneficial.

Feedback from colleagues attending the event was overwhelmingly positive, with many highlighting the value of making new connections and continuing conversations beyond the day itself. Collaboration is central to research, and events like this help to strengthen those relationships.

Alongside the work showcased at the event, it is also important to recognise the wider innovation happening across our system.

We are also seeing innovation supporting earlier identification and prevention. Early identification of hypertension remains a key priority, with a recent Integrated Care Academy evaluation highlighting the impact of community-based SiSU health check stations. More than a third of users recorded at-risk or high-risk blood pressure readings. With 19 stations and two mobile units deployed in areas of higher inequality, nearly 10,000 residents have been able to check blood pressure, stress levels and BMI—supporting earlier intervention and prevention. The full evaluation report is available online.

Innovation is also being driven through collaborative digital approaches. Following the success of a recent Digital Hackathon, planning is underway for the next event. The hackathon brought together frontline professionals and people with lived experience to co-create solutions, rapidly developing prototype apps using a no-code platform. Expressions of Interest will be opening soon for those with ideas to take forward.

New approaches to population health management are also being explored. In Deben Health Group Primary Care Network, an AI-enabled tool—Brave—is being piloted to support proactive care for vulnerable adults at risk of hospital admission, aiming to reduce admissions, ambulance call-outs and GP contacts.

Alongside this, partners are piloting ambient voice technology to support clinical documentation and free up time for patient care, with a strong focus on safety and governance. An Ambient Voice Technology (AVT) Community of Practice will soon be launched to support shared learning across the system. If you’re interested in joining to share learning and help advance our collective understanding of AVT, we’d be delighted to welcome you. Please email innovation@suffolknhsuk.onmicrosoft.com

Alongside reflecting on what has been achieved, we are also looking ahead. We have recently launched our latest round of Research Capability Funding (RCF), which supports teams to develop high-quality research proposals aligned to our system priorities. These include early years, mental health, long-term conditions, ageing well, and end of life care—particularly in out-of-hospital settings.

Importantly, we recognise that generating evidence is only part of the challenge. Ensuring that research findings are used in practice is equally important. As part of this programme, we will also support projects that focus on engaging decision-makers and embedding existing evidence into care, where this has not already been funded. To find out more about RCF please contact m.twigg1@nhs.net. 

A consistent theme throughout the event, ongoing work and our funding approach is the importance of meaningful community involvement. Research must be done with people, not to them. This means working with communities—including those who are often underrepresented—throughout the development and delivery of projects, and building relationships that are sustained over time.

Research and innovation are collective endeavours. They depend on curiosity, collaboration and a shared commitment to improving care. What was clear from both the event and wider work across our system is that there is real momentum, and a strong foundation on which to build.

Warm regards,

Frankie