A Bury care home manager has been recognised with a prestigious award for assisting with research into health and care.

Lindsey Whittle, manager of Alexander Care Home in Bury, was presented with the accolade by representatives from Clinical Research Network (CRN) Greater Manchester, part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The CRN Greater Manchester Certificate of Achievement is presented to deserving teams or individuals who have made a significant contribution to the delivery of health and care research in the region.

Under Lindsey’s leadership, the Rochdale Road care home has become one of the region’s most active members of the NIHR’s Enabling Research in Care Homes (ENRICH) network of more than 60 homes across Greater Manchester and East Cheshire.

She has developed the home into a research-active site where residents and their families are provided with opportunities to be part of studies from the NIHR portfolio.

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Lindsey said: “I was overwhelmed to receive this certificate - it has taken pride of place in my office.

"Everyone I have met through being part of research has been so friendly and welcoming at meetings and when coming into the home.

“From the owner, to all of our staff, the whole team at Alexander have embraced our home becoming research-active.

"We are extremely grateful to the CRN for their support and of course to our residents and their families for taking part in the studies.

"We hope to be involved in more studies over the coming year.”

Lindsey has also played an active role in helping the CRN Greater Manchester team engage with her residents so they can contribute to research, such as the INTERACT study which is measuring loneliness in the UK via a brief survey.

Other research Alexander Care Home has been involved in includes the AFRI-c study, which investigated the effectiveness of portable air filter systems in preventing respiratory infections and Covid-19 in care home residents, and the Visit-id study, which looked at care home visiting policies during the pandemic.

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Emma Oughton, assistant research delivery manager with CRN Greater Manchester who leads on social care research, said: “The NIHR is keen to grow research in care homes so that we can increase the evidence base to help people maintain good health and quality of life as they age.

“Lindsey and her team at the Alexander Care Home are providing a shining example of how care homes and their residents can contribute to health and care research.

"One of our values is to make research as inclusive as possible for everyone across Greater Manchester and Lindsey is certainly helping us to do this.”