24 September 2025

Mersey Care staff came together at the fifth Nursing, Midwives and Allied Health Professions (AHPs) Research and Innovation Forum to connect, identify their research goals, gain support and learn about all the brilliant research taking place across the Trust.

The event was held at Maghull Health Park, and organised by Research Effectiveness Lead Oladayo Bifarin and Assistant Director of AHP’s Krystina Stanway.

Speakers shared their inspiring research journeys and NHS Research and Development North West provided useful insights into developing a research career through a new soon-to-be announced internship scheme.

Some of the highlights included:

  • Senior Research Lead Dr Jade Thai discussing how we can realise the benefits of research and innovation and how teams can work together more effectively to support our ambitions
  • Mental Health Nurse Cat Phillips giving a brilliant presentation on her service evaluation into borderline personality disorder and the need for more education and training. Read more about Cat’s story in her blog
  • Assistant Psychologist Rebecca Hartley discussing a service evaluation into reported racism in inpatient mental health wards which sparked ideas on how this could be further developed.
  • Head of Nursing for Secure Mathew Savage talking about how he has promoted research and innovation in the workforce and his own personal research journey which has led to him studying for a professional doctorate.

Clinicians and the Research and Innovation team also discussed how they can work together more effectively and improve research involvement across the trust.

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More information

If you would like to attend the next forum, please send a brief email expressing your interest to Dr Oladayo Bifarin (oladayo.bifarin@merseycare.nhs.uk) or Dr Krystina Stanway (krystina.stanway@merseycare.nhs.uk).

They can add you to a Teams channel in which updates and registration information are shared.