Every year, more than 40 lakh people across the globe die within 30 days of a surgical operation! And, half of these deaths occur in low and middle income countries. India is one such country on the list. But, what is the main reason behind such deaths? It is Surgical Site Infection (SSI), which is a complication caused after surgery in the part of the body that was operated. SSI can have a catastrophic impact on patients, driving many of them into poverty as they struggle to work and pay healthcare bills. Thus, it is very important to take critical steps to reduce SSI, which can result in lesser suffering, quicker recovery, lesser number of deaths, and saving of money. With reduction in SSI, patients will also need fewer and shorter courses of antibiotics, and a shorter stay in the hospital.
Tie up of University of Birmingham and Indian medical professionals
Taking a look at the sad situation of SSI that India faces today, experts from the University of Birmingham have tied up with medical professionals in India to set up an innovative research center that can help improve healthcare for surgical patients. A team from the University’s joint research team recently visited Punjab to launch the first-ever surgical research hub at Christian Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana. There was also a training workshop delivered under the guidance of Dr. Nepogodiev and Programme Manager Dr. Sohini Chakrabortee, along with Indian surgeons Dr. Dhruv Ghosh and Dr. Rohin Mittal.
Goal of the collaboration
A two-day training workshop proved to be important and successful in establishing independent and sustainable research hubs and a trial center as part of a major health research programme to help develop surgical research which will have the potential to improve the quality of surgery. Launched with partners from low and middle income countries, and the Universities of Edinburgh and Warwick, the Global Health Research Unit aims to establish research hubs and trial centers in India and other partner countries that will perform their own clinical research relevant to the local populations, while serving the global requirements. This Research Unit is based at the University of Birmingham and co-directed by Professors Dion Morton and Peter Brocklehurst. The unit has also formed a Policy and Implementation Consortium to work with professional associations, government organizations, and NGOs across the world; the list also including the World Health Organization (WHO). This consortium will use the results obtained from the research generated by the unit, as a tool to inform changes in clinical practices and provide evidence to drive policy changes across the globe.
In Dr. Dhruv Ghosh’s words:
In regards to this collaboration, Dr. Dhruv Ghosh said, “There is a critical need to improve surgical infrastructure across India and beyond, in order to improve patient care and reduce the devastating impact of a lack of surgical care. We are delighted to link with our partners at the University of Birmingham in this latest stage of a global health research initiative that has the potential to save many thousands of lives in India.”
Among the first studies to be launched by this joint India-UK team is a surgical trial, with the aim to look at interventions to reduce the impact of post-surgical infection. Also, the access to healthcare for patients requiring surgery will be evaluated.
With so much being done in India to improve the condition of the healthcare industry and perk up the state of Indian clinical research, you can expect the Indian clinical research industry to boom up in only a few years time. So, take up this opportunity and build a successful clinical research career by enrolling at Avigna Clinical Research Institute, where you will be offered the best kind of clinical research online training courses in Bangalore.
