£1.06MILLION TO
IMPROVE ACCESS TO PHYSIOTHERAPY
 A Keele-led study to improve
access to physiotherapy has been awarded £1.06million by
the Medical Research Council.
The study, led by Keele's Dr Nadine Foster (Research
Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences) and
Professor Chris Salisbury of Bristol University, will
investigate the effectiveness of "PhysioDirect", a
telephone assessment and advice service for
physiotherapy, based on computerised algorithms.
Following the telephone assessment, patients are sent
tailored written advice by post and invited for
face-to-face treatment only when necessary.
Dr Foster, Professor Salisbury and colleagues will
conduct a randomised trial comparing PhysioDirect with
usual waiting-list based face to face assessment and
care. They aim to test the hypothesis that
PhysioDirect will be equally effective and more
cost-effective than usual care, while also providing
faster access to care and greater patient
satisfaction.
The researchers will recruit 1,875 patients in
different age-groups and with different conditions,
referred by GPs for physiotherapy; they will examine
factors associated with the success or failure of the
service, the acceptability of PhysioDirect to patients
and staff, and ways in which the service could be
improved. |
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KEELE STUDENT
HONOURED FOR COMMITMENT TO SOCIETY
 Undergraduate Jason Davies has been
named one of the most socially responsible in the
country at a national awards ceremony honouring student
achievements.
The 20-year-old Law and Politics student
was named runner up in the Socially Responsible Student
of the Year category at the Real World awards, winning a
£500 prize which he has donated to the Keele People and
Planet Society.
The third year, who is Keele's Students'
Union Environmental Officer, has been heavily involved
in green issues on campus, including a successful
campaign to ban plastic bags from university outlets,
consultation on the transport plan and the Energy
Champions project, aiming to reduce energy consumption
across the university. He also presents a weekly green
show on KUBE Radio and is committed to Keele's
anti-racism society, leafleting door-to-door across
Stoke-on-Trent. |
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LINES OF THOUGHT
BOOK LAUNCH
 A book entitled Lines of
Thought.The Drawings of Desmond Morris by Dr
Silvano Levy (Humanities) was launched at the opening of
an exhibition of the same name, curated by Dr Levy, at
the Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead, as part of the
Merseyside Capital of Culture. Desmond Morris opened the
exhibition, which was attended by fellow zoologist and
former Director General of the BBC, David Attenborough. Lines of Thought was produced with a research
grant of £5,500 from the Mayor Gallery and brings the
total number of books written by Dr Levy to eight. Dr
Levy has also just secured a contract with Ashgate
Press, Vermont, for a major book on
Magritte.
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WIDENING PARTICIPATION
CAREERS ADVISORS' EVENT
The Faculty of Health recently held a Widening
Participation Careers Advisors' event. The event was well
attended by 17 representatives from local Schools and
Colleges, and Careers Organisations. The event,
organised and hosted by the Faculty of Health Widening
Participation team, comprised talks and admissions advice for
applications to undergraduate programmes within the Faculty,
tours of the Clinical Education Centre and opportunities for
informal discussion. The event was hugely successful and
careers advisors reported that the information will be of
enormous benefit to help them in giving careers advice for
pupils in Schools and Colleges. |
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Award announced in name of
former Keele professor
The Royal
Society of Chemistry has announced an award in the name
of Derek Birchall, who was Professor of Inorganic
Chemistry at Keele from 1992 to 1995. The Materials for
Industry - Derek Birchall Award will reward an
individual for creativity and excellence in the
application of materials chemistry in industry. Dr Chris
Exley, of Keele's Birchall Centre for Inorganic
Chemistry and Materials Science, said: "Derek was an
internationally acclaimed scientist and inventor as
exemplified by the Royal Society of Chemistry's decision
to name an award after him." Details of the award can be
found by clicking here. |
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Recent research
grants
Professor Victor Shrira, Research Institute for the
Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics,
has been awarded £9,800 by the European Centre for
Medium Range Weather Forecasts for a project titled
"Direct numerical simulation of 2-D freak waves".
Dr Sue Sherman, Research Institute for Life Course
Studies, has been awarded a Nuffield Science Bursary
worth £1,400 for a two-month project titled "False
memory for brand names".
Dr Ralf Gertisser, Research Institute for the
Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics,
has been awarded a Nuffield Science Bursary
(Undergraduate research 2008) worth £1,400 for a
two-month project titled "Volcanoes and climate:
volatile emissions and climatic effects of the 1993
eruption of Lascar Volcano, Chile".
Leighton Hospital
celebration
Leighton Hospital celebrated 60 years of the NHS at
Keele Hall last week. More than 320 staff from the
hospital enjoyed a Monte Carlo themed evening, which
included a 12-piece band, casino and
cocktails. |
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