Funds allocated to extend SAFER
The SAFER programme of research, investigating screening to detect atrial fibrillation, was awarded a funding extension by the National Institute for Health and Care Research in 2023.
SAFER will now be funded to March 2028. The extension was necessary because of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the limited capacity of primary care to deliver patient care in 2020 and 2021. The SAFER team have taken the opportunity to revise the power calculation for the trial, in light of the results from the StrokeStop trial in Sweden. SAFER is now aiming to recruit 82,000 participants and is well on track to complete recruitment by autumn 2023.