Practice-based research can add huge value

Clinical research, carried out within a practice using existing cases, can provide very valuable research data and its contribution to improving the quality of veterinary practice, and to advancing our knowledge of diseases and how best to treat them, should not be overlooked.

That was one of the messages heard by a group of 70 veterinary surgeons, including clinicians, researchers and academics, at an RCVS-hosted seminar entitled "Research into Practice… Practice into Research" on 20 September 2005.

The objective of the seminar, which was supported by the RCVS Trust, was to explore the interface between clinical research and veterinary practice. The event considered how practitioners can make a greater contribution to clinical research and how research findings can be better transferred into practice.

RCVS President, Lynne Hill, kicked off the morning's proceedings (which were chaired by Junior Vice-President, Professor Sheila Crispin) by discussing the importance of clinical governance.

Mrs Hill considered areas such as benchmarking, the importance of generating meaningful data and the increasing role that transparent recording of information plays in a well-run practice. Linking this requirement to the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme, she said:

"It is important that all members of the veterinary team take part in clinical governance - from the veterinary surgeon to the receptionist - and that changes in policy which may arise are well documented and communicated.

"Many practices will carry out these processes but in an ad hoc way- the Practice Standards Scheme requires practices to formalise, record, refine and develop robust written protocols."

Dr Liam O'Toole explained the work of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, of which he is Director. The UKCRC is an excellent example of positive collaboration in the human health field, and one from which the veterinary profession may learn some useful lessons in terms of shared funding, resources and commitment.

The academic point of view was then offered by Professor Jonathan Elliott, Research Vice-Principal at the Royal Veterinary College, and Dr James Wood, Director of the Cambridge Infectious Disease Consortium.

The afternoon session, chaired by Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, Director of the Moredun Research Institute, focused the practitioners' experience. Variety seemed to be the watchword here.

Experiences ranged from that of Dr Hugh Lewis, Vice-Principal of the US-based Banfield Group, a 500-hospital practice with 1,000 vets and a 20-million-strong patient database, to David Black, a Practitioner in Cumbria who supported the merits of small-scale trial work, integrated with every day practice.

Other speakers included George Gunn, working with the Scottish Agricultural College Animal Health Group, who discussed the role of practitioners in animal health and disease surveillance in rural areas.

Finally, delegates debated with a panel, comprising Carole Clarke, a practitioner from Norfolk, Dr Graham David from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, and Dr Chris Little, a practitioner from Kent.

The panel, chaired by Dr Judy MacArthur Clark, former Chairman of the RCVS Research Committee, provoked stimulating debate from the delegates. Topics ranged from the ethics of marketing practice-generated research data to the difficulty of generating funding for clinical research into small animal diseases.

In summing up the event, Professor Quintin McKellar, Chair of the RCVS Research Committee, highlighted the important role that clinical research can play - within both universities and commercial practice.

"The discussion and presentations today have generated a huge amount of ideas for the Research Committee to develop, and we will report back on progress in due course," he concluded.