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Research
Standing on the shoulders of giants CTANZ and the Royal College of Surgeons of England The success the Clinical Trials Network Australia New Zealand (CTANZ) has experienced has been, in great part, due to the support of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) Surgical Trials Initiative immediate past clinical director, Professor Dion Morton OBE, and current Clinical Director, Professor Peter Hutchinson. Wisdom and experience were freely shared when CTANZ was finding its feet. The strong collaborative links formed have borne outstanding results, with the most recent being the SUNRRISE international clinical trials collaborative. We aim to reciprocate by offering Australian and New Zealand – originated multi-centred clinical trials to further strengthen collaborative ties with the RCS Initiative’s specialty networks. We have invited Professor Hutchison and Mr Murat Akkulak from RCS England as guest contributors to this issue of Surgical News to detail the development of RCS Initiative’s model, which we have adapted to our unique Australia and New Zealand clinical research environment. — Professor David Watson, Clinical Director, CTANZ
Professor Dion Morton and Professor David Watson
Prior to the launch of the RCS Surgical Trials Initiative, the RCS already had a strong track record in delivering research of a basic, translational and clinical nature across a wide range of surgical specialties. The RCS Research Fellowship scheme has supported over 800 fellows in its 26-year existence, directly contributing to numerous studies and changing practice across the world, while nurturing the next generation of surgeons who are passionate about clinical research. In 2013, it was recognised that there was a need for a new scheme to deliver surgical trials, now called the RCS Surgical Trials Initiative. The trials initiative was created by Professor Derek Alderson and Professor Dion Morton and launched with thanks to the commitment of key partners, including Rosetrees Trust, which provided significant grants from the onset to nurture this new innovative network of Surgical Trials Centres (STCs) and Surgical Specialty Leads (SSLs). The role of the SSL is to develop a holistic model, bringing together surgical specialty associations and charities affiliated with each discipline, with the
aim of securing engagement across each surgical specialty. STCs were established across the United Kingdom, and tasked with launching new surgical trials and developing training programs for trainees and consultants interested in surgical clinical research. We now have SSLs in every discipline who, in turn, have appointed Associate SSLs to lead trainee engagement work and run trainee-led studies. In recent years we have developed the position of RCS Professorial Chairs in Surgical Trials, which are set up at each STC to grow capacity at these centres. We now have eight RCS Professors across six STCs. Having such a broad and holistic network meant the RCS was very well placed to tackle the challenges faced across the world by COVID-19. The RCS COVID Research Group was launched in April 2020, with five projects and now has over 50 projects being supported by the College. The group assists in the funding and coordination of studies, and in recruitment. The portfolio includes major international cohort studies investigating the outcomes of COVID-19 patients undergoing surgery, the impact
