Health Research Southampton

08/12/2025

🎄 Day 4 of 🎄

Our 12 Days of UHS continues as we reflect on Volunteers Week back in June, when we shared Cath’s story.

After losing her husband Phil, Cath deeply missed the daily connection with the UHS teams who had cared for them both for nearly a decade.

Driven by an overwhelming need to give something back, she began volunteering on D6 and the Respiratory High Dependency Unit—finding purpose and a way through her grief.

Earlier this year Cath left behind a 40-year teaching career to join UHS as a healthcare support worker on D6.

Thank you Cath for making a difference for our patients 👏

08/12/2025

Are you eating enough ? 🍴

Researchers at University of Southampton Medicine, University of East Anglia (UEA) and Holland & Barrett have found most of us fall short of the recommended intake of two key omega-3s 👇
https://research.uhs.nhs.uk/news/three-quarters-of-people-not-getting-enough-omega-3

05/12/2025

🎄 Day 3 of 🎄

As we reach Day 3 of our 12 Days of UHS, we recognise how volunteers at UHS are helping create fairer, more accurate research and better healthcare for everyone.

This year we were proud to join the Improving Black Health Outcomes (IBHO) BioResource.

Black communities are often underrepresented in health research, limiting our understanding of conditions like sickle cell, diabetes, and mental health.

The IBHO BioResource, part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is changing this by inviting people of Black ethnic backgrounds to join vital studies.

Whether you have a health condition or not, you can make a difference at our NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility. Join over 5,000 volunteers shaping the future of inclusive medicine.

Learn more and sign up today to help improve health outcomes for Black communities across the UK.
https://www.bioresource.nihr.ac.uk/centres-programmes/improving-black-health-outcomes-ibho-bioresource/

04/12/2025

In stroke care, every minute counts. 🚑👩‍💻

“For every half an hour you delay treatments in this setting, patients have a 10% less likely chance of returning to independent living,” explains Dr Richard Marigold.

A trial at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust piloted video calls to assess patients in the ambulance.

The latest findings, presented at the UK Stroke Forum, show this led to faster scans, quicker treatment and better chances of recovery.

The virtual assessments are now used routinely at UHS. The team next aim to roll-out the technology across the region so more hospitals can realise the benefits.

“This is an incredibly exciting project that has the potential to revolutionise acute stroke care,” said Dr Marigold.

04/12/2025

03/12/2025

Did you know that whooping cough numbers have been at their worst in 3⃣0⃣ years?

However there could be fresh hope for controlling the disease 💙

Watch to learn about an National Institute for Health and Care Research clinical trial at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

Vaccines for whooping cough are already part of routine childhood immunisations in the UK. However they don’t provide lifelong protection. They also don’t stop people from carrying and spreading the bacteria.

A new vaccine, called BPZE1, is being tested and results suggest it could offer better protection.

🔗 Read more via the link in the comments below.

03/12/2025

A new vaccine being developed for whooping cough could offer better protection and stop the virus spreading, scientists have said. Full story: https://bbc.in/443sIXH

03/12/2025

A clinical trial at University Hospital Southampton has shown a new vaccine could offer better protection against whooping cough.

03/12/2025

🎄 Day 2 of 🎄

Our 12 Days of UHS continues as we celebrate a UK-first!

At the start of the year our incredible cardiac team successfully implanted the first ACURATE Prime TAVI prosthesis in the UK. This is a new type of aortic valve system and a groundbreaking advancement in heart care.

TAVI (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) is a minimally invasive procedure that replaces a narrowed aortic valve, offering hope to patients who aren’t suited for open-heart surgery.

With well over 1,000 TAVI procedures performed at UHS, we’re proud to lead the way in adopting the latest innovations that make a difference for patients.

Stay tuned for Day 3 later this week.

01/12/2025

🎄 Day 1 of 🎄

Today we start our 12 Days of UHS, spreading some festive cheer by reflecting on just some of the ways we’ve made a difference to our patients and community in 2025.

Earlier this year we shared the inspiring story of 13-year-old Aliza Rae, who was treated at Southampton Children’s Hospital after a freak horse-riding accident left her with a serious spinal injury.

Despite being told she might never walk again, Aliza Rae amazed everyone by taking her first steps just eight weeks after surgery—and later walked out of hospital unaided.

“I remember being told I might never walk again, but I had this amazing team, my ‘dream team’, and they never gave up on me,” said Aliza Rae.

“They became like friends, not just doctors and physios. They helped me believe in myself.”

We wish Aliza Rae all the best as she continues her recovery 💙

Check back later this week to discover another way our UHS teams are making a difference this festive season.

28/11/2025

Have potential treatments for dangerous superbugs been found in hospital toilets? 🏥

A team of researchers, led by Franklin Nobrega at the University of Southampton, have created an open source library of bacteria-eating viruses known as phages.

It could help tackle one of the most dangerous hospital superbugs, Klebsiella pneumoniae.

These phages, sourced from hospital wastewater, show promise against antibiotic-resistant strains that can cause serious infections in hospital patients.

The collection is now open to scientists worldwide, enabling global collaboration to speed up research and develop new treatments 👏

Read more: https://research.uhs.nhs.uk/news/bacteria-eating-virus-collection-could-help-tackle-hospital-superbug