'Research gives people hope': How Leeds hospitals are speeding up life-saving medical breakthroughs

NHS leaders say patients across Leeds are benefiting sooner from cutting-edge research, AI and new treatments.

An event held in the city last week, which included a keynote speech from Lindsey Burrow, heard that Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and partners across the city are bringing pioneering research from the laboratory to the bedside faster than before.

Speaking at ‘Tomorrow’s Healthcare Today: Leeds Research and Innovation Conference’, the Trust’s chairman Antony Kildare said the challenge facing healthcare was not a lack of innovation, but the pace at which it could be adopted across services.

He said a future where healthcare, research, education and enterprise "are fully integrated to serve society better" was already taking shape in Leeds.

Trust Chief Executive Brendan Brown added: "For us, research is not separate from healthcare. It is healthcare. It is how we improve outcomes, tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the NHS and ensure that our patients benefit from the very latest advances in medicine, science and technology."

Lindsey Burrow, a clinical physiotherapist at the Trust and motor neurone disease campaigner following the death of her husband, the rugby league legend Rob Burrow CBE, was among the keynote speakers opening the conference.

She said: "Research gives people hope but hope is strongest when the voices of patients and carers are heard alongside scientific expertise. The people living with conditions today cannot wait for the perfect answer tomorrow.

“Their experiences should help shape the questions we ask, the studies we design and the care we deliver. If we truly listen to those with lived experience, research will not only be better science, it will be better for the people it is intended to serve."

Hosted by Leeds Teaching Hospitals in collaboration with Health Innovation Leeds on July 15, the fifth annual conference was attended by 450 delegates, 80 expert speakers, more than 40 exhibitors and 100 research posters from clinical researchers.

The event brought together NHS colleagues, academics, partners, community organisations and regional leaders to showcase the ideas, partnerships and discoveries which are transforming care in Leeds and beyond.

Dr Tan, who has championed the conference since launching it in 2022, said: "Leeds is proud to stand among the UK's top five research delivery centres and one of the top three global locations for health tech innovation. Everything we do begins with the question: what can we do more of, better, to care for patients?"

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the UK’s largest research organisations, with more than 117,000 people taking part in research studies over the past five years.

The city is at the forefront of research into areas such as personalised cancer vaccines, digital health technologies and new approaches to managing long-term conditions.

Dr Amir Khan, star of TV's GPs: Behind Closed Doors, Good Morning Britain and patron of Leeds Hospitals Charity, closed the conference.

He said: "In general practice, research isn't something that sits in an ivory tower hidden away at universities or journals. It's something that walks into our consulting rooms every day. Every prescription I write, every investigation I request and every conversation I have with patients is shaped by evidence.

“Research is what allows us to move from saying 'this is what we've always done' to 'this is what we know works better.”