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Homepage About our Trust News and media Latest news New Medical Lead for R&D appointed

25 July 2024

New Medical Lead for R&D appointed

An “ambitious and passionate” leader has been appointed to head up medical research at a Black Country hospital with the aim of it becoming a regional hub for clinical trials to reduce health inequalities.

Tonny Veenith

Professor Tonny Veenith, Academic Consultant in Critical Care Medicine and Anaesthetics, has been appointed as Medical Lead for Research and Development at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT). He is based in the Integrated Critical Care Unit (ICCU) at New Cross Hospital.

Dr Veenith is a Professor in Intensive Care Medicine, Perioperative Care and Anaesthetics and also Clinical Director of Research at RWT.

The father of three, 44, arrived from the University of Birmingham, where he had been since 2022.

He was elected as a Macintosh Professor by the Royal College of Anaesthetists in January 2021. This prestigious lecture and title are awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to anaesthesia.

At the time, Dr Veenith, was a Consultant in Neurocritical Care and Critical Care Medicine at University Hospital of Birmingham NHS Trust, based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

“I want to make research work, not just for our Trust, but for the local population by investing heavily in local people,” said Prof. Veenith.

“Wolverhampton has the second-highest health inequalities in the country, so to make a contribution to reducing these would be ground-breaking.

“It will take half a decade to a decade to do, but when we do it, it will have a long-lasting effect on our city and population.

“I want to work with the University of Wolverhampton to set up a clinical trials unit, making us a regional hub and to improve access to research for the local community – that is closest to my heart.

“Whether led by me or the University, I want us to embrace clinical awareness to improve the process to win grants to do more research.

“Up to 70-80 per cent of patients are here because of an acute illness such as pneumonia – how can we prevent that happening and how can we get them diagnosed earlier?

“We have people of 40-45 with no risk factors in our ICCU with cardiac arrests, which shouldn’t happen, so there’s a requirement to understand how these health inequalities develop.”

Pauline Boyle, Group Director of Research and Development at RWT and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “I am excited to be working with Professor Veenith.

“I know how passionate he is about the power of research and its role in saving and changing lives.

“Tonny has ambitious plans to ensure patients, staff and the Trust maximise all of the benefits of research.”

ENDS