Sanctuary exclusively recruits nurses for Covid-19 plasma transfusion trials
By Andrew Pirie
In little under a month, Sanctuary Personnel has exclusively supplied over 171 nurses to staff a UK-wide Covid-19 plasma transfusions trial.
The convalescent plasma trial is being run by the NHS Blood & Transfusion Service (NHSBT) and started at the end of April 2020. The aim of the trial is to lessen the severity of Covid-19 by delivering plasma transfusions to infected hospital patients containing antibodies of those who have already had the virus.
UK-wide recruitment
Over the coming months, many hospitals are expected to take part in the trial with blood donor centres being set up across the UK to enable a constant supply.
Already, blood donor centres have been set up in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Manchester and other cities, with Sanctuary Personnel continuing to recruit qualified nurses.
At the time of writing this blog, 29 May 2020, we have 19 live vacancies across all the blood donor centres, of which there are more being set up each week.
For nurses wanting to be part of this hugely important trial, it’s a great opportunity. Although the exact effectiveness of plasma treatment will not be known until the trial finishes, there’s a strong indication it can improve a Covid-19 patient’s speed of recovery and chances of survival.
How the process works
The plasma is given to patients through the ongoing REMAP-CAP trial. NHS data is used to contact patients with a positive test result who live near a donor centre. They are then invited to take part of the trial. Likewise, recovered people can also give their details through the NHSBT website.
Speaking about the potential of the trial, Professor Anthony Gordon, Professor of Anaesthesia and Critical Care and NIHR Research Professor at Imperial College London, and the Chief Investigator for REMAP-CAP, said the REMAP-CAP trial is:
“…fully adaptive, meaning that new treatments can be added as we learn more, the sample size isn’t fixed and it keeps recruiting until it finds that a treatment is better, worse, or the same as another.”
Sanctuary Personnel’s role
Sanctuary has been supplying nurses for the trial since day one and are delighted to be exclusively recruiting suitable candidates for this incredibly important trial.
Dr Gail Miflin, Chief Medical Officer, NHS Blood and Transplant, said:
“It is an ambitious project and we’re grateful to Sanctuary for providing such highly skilled nurses to support the initiative. We are holding a lot of new donation sessions, and we know some donors will have been through a very difficult time, so having extra highly trained professionals to support this programme is crucial.”
To find out more about the roles available, you will need to be registered with Sanctuary Personnel.
If already registered, please view our latest jobs or contact your consultant for further information.
