#Red4Research Blog: Liz Worsley, Nurse Manager NIHR Manchester CRF at RMCH

#Red4Research brings together everyone participating, supporting and undertaking research. To celebrate this year’s #Red4Research Day, Nurse Manager at the National institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF) at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH), Liz Worsley, shares her research journey and why she is proud to be part of research that is changing lives for the better.

There are many reasons I feel honoured to say I work in research including seeing first hand, the impact some of our treatments have on transforming the lives of our children and their families and being part of a team delivering pioneering treatments to change care for the better.

I have been a registered nurse for more than 20 years, with my career initially starting at Booth Hall Children’s Hospital in Blackley. The hospital went on to merge with Pendlebury Children’s Hospital to create the world-class Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital which first opened its doors in June 2009, as part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT). 

Starting out as staff nurse in January 2004 and working in the specialities of burns and plastic surgery, I quickly developed a passion for wound care.

Starting my research journey

In 2010 it was this interest in burns and plastic surgery that would drive me out of my comfort zone to apply for the role of a Senior Clinical Research Nurse on the Burns Unit and start my research journey. I cared for burn patients on the unit with acute injury and those in critical care, from admission, right through to their rehabilitation.

In my first research role, I was able to acquire many new clinical skills in the areas of wound assessment and care, whilst also growing my research knowledge.

When the opportunity arose to apply for a role in the NIHR Manchester CRF at RMCH, the first specialist children’s clinical facility in the North West, I took it – a decision I have never regretted. 

Proud to work in research

Over the last 14 years at NIHR Manchester CRF, I have had the opportunity to utilise my nursing skills in a different context and be part of shaping care and treatments that could be available in the future.

I have worked within a wonderful multidisciplinary team of doctors, specialist nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, nutritionists, play therapists,  research administrative teams and psychologists.

I am proud to work with a team of professionals which combines a rich and varied clinical expertise with an outstanding knowledge and experience in research.

Being the first site globally to deliver groundbreaking treatments and over time see treatments that were once investigational, approved for use by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and given as standard care in the NHS – in some cases for conditions for which there was previously no treatment – is particularly satisfying.

In 2011, I gave the first dose of an enzyme replacement therapy treatment, sebelipase alfa (Kanuma®), in a world-first phase 1 clinical trial. Last year this became the first treatment available on the NHS for lysosomal acid lipase deficiency, also known as Wolman disease. It is a real honour to have played my part in this successful outcome for our wonderful patients and families that we care for.

We are so thankful to all our participants and their families who take part in our clinical studies. Research could not happen without their support, and their feedback also enables us to continually make improvements to the service we provide. The therapeutic relationships we forge over time with families, some of who we see for several hours each week, also makes what we do all the more worthwhile.

Nursing in a clinical research environment can be challenging but also, in my opinion, the most rewarding. On #Red4Research Day, I would like to encourage other health professionals, including fellow nurses either qualified, or still studying, to take any opportunity to venture into research.