News

Being part of the team that won an NHS parliamentary award in 2024 for a research project, planning NIHR PGfAR funding bids and working on a major trauma collaboration with the University of York, supported by the DayOne Trauma charity. 

It’s been a busy year already for Dr Lauren A. Taylor, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the MSIR (Musculoskeletal, Surgery, Inflammation and Recovery) theme, since she became one of the winners of the Nottingham BRC research poster competition at the BRC conference.

FADU evolves during 2025

Lauren, who co-leads the MSIR theme’s Patient and Public Involvement group and is the academic lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for the Doctoral Programme Committee, was a member of a cross functional team who won a Parliamentary award for work to establish the UK’s first Orthopaedic Frailty Admission and Discharge Unit (FADU) at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham.

Since the win, the team has written up the study findings, which they have submitted to a specialist orthopaedics peer-reviewed journal and are under review. Lauren and her colleagues are also planning to submit an NIHR programme grant later in the year to refine the FADU intervention. The plan is to confirm efficacy through a pilot trial, conduct clinical trial to evaluate the impact of FADU in multiple trauma centres - and finally - develop an implementation package to support a national rollout.

PRIME project

Meanwhile, the Psychosocial pRogramme for Improving Mental Health and Emotional wellbeing after major trauma (PRIME) project is an initiative led by Lauren and MSIR Theme Co-Lead Professor Benjamin Ollivere, in collaboration with the University of York and supported by the DayOne Trauma charity.

Research highlights that posttraumatic mental illness, including PTSD and depression, affects up to 53% of major trauma patients. Recovery after major trauma continues even after the physical injuries have healed and longitudinal evidence has shown that individuals who have experienced major traumatic injury may face a significant decline in mental health and quality of life up to three years after the initial injury.

However, current healthcare structures often fail to provide adequate long-term psychological support, especially after a patient is discharged from hospital. PRIME seeks to bridge this critical gap by developing an integrated psychosocial programme that offers sustainable, evidence-based mental health interventions and increased social care pathways for trauma survivors.

To support the development and evaluation of this initiative, the team is planning to submit a bid for NIHR funding this Spring.

Listening to the views of patients

Lauren and Dr Jessica Nightingale, trauma and orthopaedics clinical research manager, have established a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group for MSIR. This meets quarterly to discuss the latest research projects in Trauma & Orthopaedics and allied departments.

So far, this group has provided feedback and insights into over 15 trauma related research projects and have provided continued feedback on the development of grant applications, such as the PRIME project.

Lauren said: “I was truly honoured to be part of the NHS Parliamentary award-winning team for FADU - 2024 was a fantastic year for my research, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such impactful work. Our work aims to ensure that trauma care is comprehensive, going beyond physical recovery to support psychological wellbeing, social care needs and long-term quality of life. I'm excited to continue pushing forward in 2025 and beyond."