Institute for Health and Care Improvement forge closer research links with York Hospital

York St John University’s Institute for Health and Care Improvement hold partnership event with York Abdominal Wall Unit to share research findings and service improvements.

The Institute for Health and Care Improvement, based at York St John University, hosted York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s recent annual meeting of the York Abdo Wall Unit. The collaborative gathering marked an important milestone in the ongoing efforts to address critical challenges facing the health and care of patients with complex abdominal wall hernias.

A team of 35 staff from various disciplines at the hospital joined research staff working within York St John University’s Institute for Health and Care Improvement. Nurses, prehabilitation specialists, clinicians, researchers, service managers, physiotherapists, advanced clinical practitioners, dieticians, psychologists, nurse educators, trainees and medical students came together to discuss aspects of what the unit excels in and what they can improve on for their patients.

The event also explored areas of ongoing research including motivation psychology (Professor Andy Hill, York St John University), Collagen in hernias (Professor Kröger, University of York), Quality of life (Dr Mark Mierzwinski, York St John University) and Prehabilitation (Professor Garry Tew, York St John University). The University launched a prehabilitation service with the hospital in April 2022, offering patients awaiting complex abdominal wall surgery a 6-week multi-disciplinary programme aimed at optimising their fitness prior to surgery.

Event lead, Mr Srinivas Chintapatla (Consultant Surgeon, York Abdominal Wall Unit, York Hospital), commented on the success of the event: 
“It was a wonderful meeting and we all came away energised and with plenty of ideas turned into action plans for taking the service forward.”

Professor Garry Tew, Director of the Institute for Health and Care Improvement, added: 
“We were delighted to host the York Abdominal Wall Unit for their away day for the second consecutive year. There was a broad range of stimulating presentations and thoughtful discussions and it was pleasing to see several areas of current and potential collaboration between our respective institutions.”  

The Institute for Health and Care Improvement, launched in 2023, brings together academics from across York St John University to rise to the challenge of finding solutions to the multiple issues facing health and social care in the UK today. The Institute acts as an innovation hub for health and care services with our internationally excellent researchers working alongside patients, clinicians and industry partners.

Find out more about the Institute for Health and Care Improvement