The Thames Valley ENRICH team are pleased to welcome some recent additions to our Research Ready Care Home Network: Langdale View, Tudor Care Home, South Lodge, Barons Park Care and Langdale House in Leicestershire, Higham House and Glenkindie Lodge in Northamptonshire, and Sunrise of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire.

Aside from promoting the importance of dementia research within our local community, we have been working with our colleagues in Yorkshire to develop an online training tool for care home staff.

During 2013 the team in Oxfordshire were very busy piloting a participant experience group, which involved distributing feedback surveys in four current studies, including Brains for Dementia Research. 183 surveys were handed out, and the average response rate was 39% (74 surveys returned), including responses from care home participants and their families. Some of the positive findings include:

• 99% think patients should be routinely offered the opportunity to participate in research (73 responses)

• 98% are likely to recommend research participation to friends and family, if their experience was similar (73 responses)

• 100% feel their participation in research was valued (74 responses)

• 89% would be interested in participating in other research studies (72 responses)

• 77% have learnt new information about their condition of interest from taking part in a study (73 responses)

• 100% understood that their participation was entirely voluntary (74 responses)

• We also took on board any suggestions made by participants and have used this feedback to improve our service.

For more information about the Thames Valley, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire Research Ready Care Home Network please email us on help.research@nhs.net or call 01865 234310