New Donation Secures Future of Emergency Medicine Research at Oxford

Emergency Department, John Radcliffe Hospital

A new research programme in emergency medicine begins today at the University of Oxford following a donation from the Kadoorie Foundation.

Emergency medicine is the medical specialty that oversees the treatment of patients with injuries and emergencies.

There are over 28 million patient visits to NHS Emergency Departments (formerly 'Accident & Emergency') every year for everything from sprained ankles and broken wrists to heart attacks and major trauma. However, emergency medicine is a relatively young specialty and faces unique challenges as the number of patients and available treatments increase every year.

The new research programme will be led by David Metcalfe who becomes the inaugural Kadoorie Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Oxford, a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the John Radcliffe Hospital, and has been elected to a fellowship of Green Templeton College.

David will oversee the development of a research group within the university that will eventually include doctoral students, clinical academic trainees, and associate research staff. This team will deliver high-impact studies aimed at improving the safety and effectiveness of emergency care, both in the UK and globally.

David said: "We are going to focus on some of the biggest priorities in emergency care, such as improving the diagnosis of time-critical conditions, optimising clinical pathways so that the right patients get the right treatment at the right time, and rigorously testing treatments to improve patient outcomes and reduce downstream healthcare costs."

The new programme will be based within the Kadoorie Centre for Critical Care Research and Education, which was made possible by The Honourable Sir Michael Kadoorie after he underwent emergency treatment at the John Radcliffe Hospital. The Kadoorie Centre has since transformed the research landscape across intensive care medicine and trauma surgery.

Professor Irene Tracey, Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: "In establishing a leading hub for emergency medicine research at Oxford, we hope to raise the profile of this important specialty and delivery research that will improve outcomes for the sickest and most severely injured patients.

"We are deeply grateful to the Kadoorie Foundation for continuing to help our researchers deliver the highest quality clinical studies."

Professor Meghana Pandit, Chief Executive Officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Ours is a research-active trust – and we value the way our strong clinical-academic partnership with the University of Oxford drives forward improvements in patient care, including in a vitally important area like emergency care.

"We welcome David's appointment and what it means for the growing significance of emergency medicine. It comes at an exciting time for our Emergency Department which is now undergoing its biggest ever workforce expansion to meet the needs of patients across our region."