The main approaches of the knowledge mobilisation team on ARC Sout West Coast include:

• Knowledge Mobilisation Fellowships: Equivalent of two full time Fellowships for the programme duration (individual Fellowships lasting 18 or 36 months), with flexible personalised training and support to equip them to lead knowledge mobilisation work across organisations.  
• Capacity Building: Develop knowledge mobilisation skills in individuals and organisations, aligning with their organisation’s strategic aims.
• Support and Training: Provided by the Implementation Team, the Health Innovation Network, and funded external training, with public involvement input.
• Flexible Arrangements: Part-time secondments and senior manager engagement to ensure organisational participation and recognition.
• Collaboration: Work with Fellows from other Applied Research Collaborations to build a broader community of practice and share knowledge mobilisation experiences.
• System-Level Change: Aim for lasting impact on the health and social care system through developed skills and strategic relationships.

These approaches aim to build knowledge mobilisation capacity, foster leadership, and achieve system-level change through collaborative and flexible Fellowships.

KM Projects underway in ARC South West Coast

• Improving staff wellbeing to improve patient experience and reduce costs

  The Care Under Pressure research programme, an NIHR-funded University of Exeter project (Care Under Pressure > Care Under Pressure [sites.exeter.ac.uk]), has spent a decade innvestigating workforce wellbeing in NHS staff.

  A key finding of this research is that improving staff wellbeing can improve patient experience and reduce costs. The most recent research report makes four recommendations for NHS trusts: 

  1. Prioritise improvements in working environments; 

  2. Find ways to involve healthcare staff in creating wellbeing solutions; 

  3. Make it easier for staff to access help; 

  4. Emphasise relationships and belonging. 

  Despite these recommendations seeming like “common sense,” there is evidence that they are not yet embedded in many NHS settings. 

  The ARC South West Coast KM team are apply the Care Under Pressure research recommendations to a local NHS organisation, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust (TSDFT), to embed these evidence-based findings into the real-world NHS setting. 

• Developing an evidenc based pathway for caudia equina syndrome

  The KM team are developing a single, evidence-based care pathway for cauda equina syndrome, a rare spinal condition.

  This work will help to improve consistency, safety and speed of care for patients across Somerset and beyond.

• The Neonatal Oral Antibiotics at Home (NOAH) project

  The Neonatal Oral Antibiotics at Home (NOAH) project is working to spread and evaluate an innovative care pathway that enables well newborn babies with suspected early-onset infection to complete their antibiotic treatment at home, rather than remaining in hospital for several days.

  Developed and piloted at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, the pathway allows a safe switch from intravenous to oral antibiotics after 36 hours, with appropriate follow-up.

  In collaboration with the Health Innovation South West, and ARC South West Coast funded Knowledge Mobilisation Fellow is supporting the national spread of this learning, including a multi-site evaluation across nine UK units, collaboration with Neonatal Operational Delivery Networks, a systematic review of the evidence base, and engagement with NICE to support guideline development.

  The ovearching aims of the NOAH progject are to:

  • improve family experience,
  • reduce unnecessary hospitalisation, and
  • support efficient use of neonatal resources across the NHS. 

  More info here NOAH (Neonatal Oral Antibiotics at Home) - Health Innovation South West

More information 

Further information can be found on the ARC South West Coast website.