The South West Pharmacy Research Network (SWPRN) connects pharmacy teams, researchers, healthcare organisations and universities across the south west of England.

We help people find collaborators, share expertise, access opportunities and build the confidence, skills and connections needed to engage in audit, service evaluation, quality improvement and research.

By strengthening links between practice and research, we support better patient care, service improvement and professional development.

Why join SWPRN?

As a member you can:

connect with pharmacy teams and researchers across the south west
find collaborators and mentors
share projects and learn from others
access information on research opportunities, funding and training
develop research, audit and quality improvement skills
build evidence for advanced practice and consultant pharmacist portfolios, and wider career progression
join a supportive regional community of practice

We welcome:

pharmacy teams, researchers, students and healthcare colleagues
individuals at all career stages, from trainees to senior leaders
members from all sectors, including community pharmacy, primary care, hospitals and universities
people with any level of experience or interest in audit, service evaluation, quality improvement or research

We are particularly committed to supporting participation across community pharmacy, primary care, pharmacy technician roles and other groups currently underrepresented in research activity.

Why pharmacy research matters

Research-active organisations are associated with improved patient outcomes, and healthcare staff involved in research benefit from better personal fulfilment, skills, connections, and development opportunities. Expanding staff scope of practice (e.g. with research) also supports recruitment and retention in rural areas.

By building stronger links between practice and research, we help ensure that research is relevant to real-world pharmacy challenges and that research findings are translated into practice.

How to join the network

Joining SWPRN is free and open to anyone with an interest in pharmacy research, audit, service evaluation or quality improvement.

Step 1: Join our mailing list

Send an email to sympa@lists.bath.ac.uk.
In the subject line of your message, type: subscribe swprn-members firstname surname (replace “firstname” and “surname” with your name).
Leave the message body blank.
You will receive a welcome email, with a link to an online survey. Please complete this so we can find out a little more about you and (with your consent) add you to our Directory of Expertise (see below).

Step 2: Join our Microsoft Teams community

Access resources, connect with members, discuss ideas and join regional conversations.

Email M.D.Jones@bath.ac.uk and ask to be added.
Follow this link for instructions on how to access our Teams site once you have been added to it, and advice on what to do if you get a message saying "your account has been blocked".

Follow our LinkedIn page and BlueSky account to stay updated with news, events and opportunities.

Our newsletter is published 5 to 6 times each year and includes:

upcoming events
funding opportunities
research training and development
collaboration opportunities
network news

Join our mailing list (see above) to receive future editions and use the links below to read recent issues (these are hosted on LinkedIn, but you don’t need to login to read them, just close down the login box that may appear):

Innovation Day

About 40 people listening to a presentation in a room with yellow walls — The 2023 Innovation Day

The Innovation Day is our annual in-person conference, bringing together pharmacy teams, researchers and students from across the South West. The event provides opportunities to:

share projects and innovations
learn from colleagues across sectors
develop new collaborations
build research knowledge and confidence
explore opportunities for future research and improvement work
progress from local projects towards wider dissemination and collaboration

We are planning our next Innovation Day and details will be announced soon via our newsletter and social media accounts.

Previous Innovation Days

Use the following links find out more about our previous Innovation Days:

Journal club

A stack of papers with coloured bulldog clips — In our journal club, we discuss a new research paper every other month

Our online journal club meets every other month during lunchtime. Together we discuss a recently published paper, exploring its findings, relevance to practice and methodological strengths and limitations.

Sessions are informal and suitable for all levels of experience, from those completely new to research through to experienced researchers. Members are welcome to attend as often as they wish and recordings are available through Microsoft Teams.

We also welcome members who would like to lead a discussion related to their own area of clinical or professional expertise.

Recent discussions have included the timing of folic acid supplementation before pregnancy, antidepressants in primary care, medicines reconciliation, primary care skill mix and consultant-level pharmacy practice.

Webinars

In the months between journal clubs, we host webinars that support members at different stages of their research journey. Topics have included:

research funding opportunities
research career development
support available across the South West
sharing project findings and experiences
NIHR opportunities and programmes

Recordings are available through Microsoft Teams.

Directory of Expertise

Our Directory of Expertise helps members identify collaborators, mentors and specialist expertise from across the south west. Nearly 100 members have contributed information about:

research interests
clinical specialties
research methods expertise
collaboration interests
location

The directory is available to members through Microsoft Teams.

Useful resources

We maintain a collection of links to useful resources that our members have found helpful, including:

training
mentoring and advice
research funding
regional organisations that support research
conferences

If you know of a useful resource that is missing, please email M.D.Jones@bath.ac.uk to suggest it.

Organising the network

Organising committee

Our organising committee coordinates our activities and the on-going development of the network. They are appointed by the steering committee for a three-year term:

Matthew Jones (chair) - University of Bath
Susie Gage (online events lead) – Bristol NHS Foundation Trust
Natasha Hamilton (Innovation Day lead) – Royal Cornwall Hospitals
Wes Hughes (Innovation Day lead) – University of Bath
Tom Kallis (communications lead) – University of Exeter
Victoria Ling (membership engagement lead) – Cornwall and Isle of Scilly ICB

Steering group

The steering group provides strategic oversight and helps guide the long-term direction of the network:

Matthew Jones (chair) - University of Bath
David Bearman - Community Pharmacy Devon and NIHR South West Peninsula Regional Research Delivery Network
Ilhem Berrou - UWE and primary care pharmacist
Victoria DiMartino - Pharmacy Workforce Development South
Ola Howell - West of England Academic Health Science Network
Lyn Hanning - University of Bath @ Plymouth
Uzo Ibechukwu - Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
Sarah Jones - University of Bath
Anneka Mitchell - University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Tim Rendell - Community Pharmacy Avon and Wiltshire, and Day Lewis PLC
Tim Rennie - University of Bath
Jenny Scott - University of Bristol
Anthony Sinclair- retired pharmacist
Stuart Spicer- University of Plymouth and PenARC
Ellen Williams - Pharmacy Workforce Development South