A HOSPITAL consultant from Elberton has been presented with a prestigious award celebrating his contribution to emergency medicine over the past two decades.

Dr Jason Kendall, who leads research in Southmead Hospital’s emergency department was named emergency medicine principal investigator of the year by the National Institute for Health Research and Royal College of Emergency Medicine in recognition of his career since joining North Bristol NHS Trust in 1998.

He said his greatest achievement is a research project to develop a painkiller – intranasal diamorphine – which is used for children suffering with acute pain, such as that associated with a broken bone or abdominal problem.

Having first started working on the project to deliver the pain relief through the nose in 1997, it was finally licensed in 2016 for use in paediatric patients.

“It has been a career-long labour of love, but now intranasal diamorphine is used in most emergency departments in the UK,” Jason said.

“It is probably the research project that I am most proud of.”

With a particular clinical interest in acute cardiovascular and stroke care and, having been involved in research in these areas for many years, Jason is currently the chairman of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline committee on the management of stroke and transient ischaemic attack.

Jason said that seeing the results of research in emergency medicine is particularly satisfying as it often involves patients who are very unwell, such as those who have suffered a heart attack, stroke or trauma.

He added: “Although research in the emergency department can be challenging because patients present in crisis, the outcomes from this type of research are worth the effort because it can make an immediate positive impact on patient care.”

Rebecca Smith, NBT deputy director of research, said: “We want to move the boundaries of emergency medicine forward and make patients better quicker by developing new drugs, new techniques and new processes of care.

“We are so pleased to see Jason named as NIHR principal investigator of the year.

“At North Bristol NHS Trust we are committed to leading medical research, especially where it can have a direct impact on the patients we see and we are delighted to see Jason recognised for his outstanding contribution to research in an emergency setting. Well done Jason.”