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Keep up to date with:

  • Local research news from our Trust including events, news and staff achievements. Plus our most recent newsletter: September 2026 newsletter
  • National news from across the whole research network including information about new studies just opened and study outcomes.

Local Research News

#Rainbow4Research Art and Poetry 2026 Competition 

Our 2026 competition is now closed.

People across Herefordshire and Worcestershire were invited to be creative: design a piece of art or write a short poem (up to 10 lines). Their piece should show “hope for research” or your experience of taking part in research. Artwork could be of any form — sculpture, a watercolour painting, a photograph or something made with textiles. 

Winners will be notified in November 2026. They will have their art/poem displayed publicly from January 2027 and win some shopping vouchers. 

View the 2025 winners via this link.

(Rainbow for Research is a campaign run on behalf of Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust. By submitting your artwork you give consent for the artwork to be shared and displayed. Original copies of artwork/poems will not be returned to owner.)

 

HWHCT Research Newsletters

Catch-up on local research news via our newsletters. These are released quarterly. For earlier editions please email us.

September 2026 newsletter

 

Research & Development Annual Conference 

Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 October 2026, 10am-12noon and 1-3pm on both days

This is our 6th Research and Development conference and it's shaping up to be a fantastic one! You can book your free tickets and see the agenda here on the ticket booking page. You can visit our conference webpages for this information too. You can also find the recordings from our five previous conferences via these webpages.

 

Staff work published:

Service Evaluation accepted for publication in The FPOP Bulletin (Psychology of Older People) - August 2026 edition

Huge congratulations to Chloe and Beth, Assistant Psychologists, along with the teams involved, on the publication of this service evaluation: Enhancing the Consistency and Range of Non-Pharmacological Interventions Recommended for People Living with Dementia in Care Homes Exhibiting Behaviours that Challenge: A Service Evaluation.

The evaluation examined whether a new information pack helped staff use more non‑pharmacological approaches with people with dementia who show behaviours that challenge. It compared practice with a 2021 review and looked at improvements in documentation. It also explored what support teams need to use these approaches consistently.

Summer 2025

It's great to celebrate staff/teams who have had their work published or promoted at conferences. We're delighted to share this below. If you would like to read the articles below please email us and we will share them with you.

Dr Julia Cook, Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist, says: 

It has been fantastic to be given the opportunity to present these two pieces of work. Diagnosis in the DiADeM project helps change and improve care for people with advanced dementia in care homes. It helps staff and families understand the person better and plan the right care. 

  • March 2025: Well done Georgina Beldon, Principal Clinical Psychologist - Mental Health Needs. Georgina had her service evaluation: 'Adapting Structured Clinical Management for older adults services: An evaluation of pilot SCM group programme' published in the Clinical Psychology Forum.

National Research news

Below is a selection of recent national research news stories. Keep up to date by visiting: News | NIHR: