We were delighted to be part of this year’s Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park, London. In addition to the Horticultural shows, entertainment plus an on-site farm, the clinical research teams from Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College London and the wider King’s Health Partners were there alongside the R&D and Trust’s public engagement teams to talk to members of the community about how our clinical research is improving treatments, how to get involved in clinical research and in shaping our work.
The event provided research teams with a great opportunity to highlight the broad range of clinical research that is currently taking place at the Trust. Guy’s and St Thomas’ teams were joined by colleagues from across King’s Health Partners who delivered engaging hands-on activities and spoke to our many visitors about their research. These ranged from discussing how to be part of dementia research; finding out about what Faecal Microbiota Transplants are and what being a healthy donor would involve; how to become part of our patient advisory groups; finding out more about the Re-Imagine prostate cancer study; right through to practical biomaterial slime-making workshops to recreate how biomaterials can be used to heal damaged tissue.
Our partners who facilitated talks / workshops included:
- Neha Modha – NIHR Clinical Research Network South London
- Saran Green – Guy’s and St Thomas’ Translational Oncology and Urology Research (TOUR) Team,
- Ella Hubber – Centre for Gene Therapy & Regenerative Medicine, King’s College London
- Clarisse Ganier – Centre for Gene Therapy & Regenerative Medicine. King’s College London
- Priyanka Bhosale – Centre for Gene Therapy & Regenerative Medicine. King’s College London
- Mohammad Yadegarfa – School of Life Course and Population Sciences, King’s College London
- Desiree Prossomariti – Faecal Microbiota Trials (Promise and Ferraro)
Reflecting on the success of our Research and Development Department’s participation at the show, Jessica Sells, Research and Development’s Patient and Public Engagement Manager, said:
“Being part of the Lambeth Country Show is just brilliant because it gives us the opportunity to truly connect with members of our community we wouldn’t usually reach and talk to them about the work we do. In lots of cases, with those conversations we’re able to break down myths, challenge preconceived ideas, and demonstrate that clinical research is something everyone can be a part of, in some shape or form. It was wonderful to see so many people taking such an interest, and I can’t wait to do it all again next year!”
The Lambeth Country Show welcomed over 160,000 people over the course of weekend, and a special thanks to the 200+ who came to visit our stand and made us feel so welcome. Everyone we met certainly left with a far greater understanding of just how broad and exciting the world of clinical research is.
For more information about this year’s Lambeth Country Show and to get an idea what to expect from next year’s event, please visit their website.
