Trial News

  • Why people decide not to take part in screening: learning from the SAFER trial (24th July, 2023) - Please see this link for an article (and link to the paper in Health Expectations) about findings from the SAFER Trial about why people decide not to take part in screening for atrial fibrillation. A huge thank you to our SAFER participants that contributed to this piece of work.
  • Funds allocated to extend SAFER (18th June, 2023) - 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 […]
  • Map of participating GP practices (20th March, 2023) - We now have a page on the trial website of a map showing the location of participating GP practices. Please note that it is only possible to join the trial via an invitation from a participating GP practice.
  • Why people take part in screening for atrial fibrillation: insights from the SAFER trial (16th March, 2022) - Please see this link for a press release (and link to the paper in BMJ Open) about findings from the SAFER Study about why people take part in screening for atrial fibrillation. A huge thank you to our SAFER participants that contributed to this piece of work – the first of many.
  • SAFER-AUS Trial announced (11th September, 2023) - We are delighted to report that our colleagues in Australia have secured funding to run the SAFER Trial in Australia. The SAFER-AUS Trial will run in 36 GP practices and will provide additional data to the UK Trial. Follow this link to see a news piece from Australian TV announcing the funding award and to […]
  • Press release – SAFER Trial starts in East Anglia (1st March, 2021) - Please see the Cambridge Primary Care Unit’s main website for full details : https://www.phpc.cam.ac.uk/pcu/research-to-test-screening-for-common-heart-condition-will-involve-2100-people-in-east-anglia/
  • Pilot trial starts (21st February, 2021) - We are excited to announce that we are starting the SAFER pilot trial. Following the successful feasibility studies we are now expanding the pilot trial into 4 regions across England: East Anglia, North West coast, East Midlands and the South West. Practices in these areas are joining the trial and will be sending invitations to […]
  • Second feasibility study starts (21st February, 2021) - We are delighted to have started the new ‘remote delivery of screening’ feasibility study. Our three practices (in Thetford, Suffolk and Royston) have invited eligible patients, and screening for AF is about to start. Patients requesting AF screening will not need to attend their GP practice to be screened – the process is managed entirely by […]
  • Adapting AF screening for remote delivery – a second feasibility study…and a blog (21st February, 2021) - Since we paused the start of the pilot trial back in March as COVID-19 struck we have been working on adapting the AF screening intervention for remote delivery at home. This will mean that patients do not have to attend their GP practice to be screened, and is the most sensible way to continue the […]
  • COVID-19 pandemic delays start of next stage of SAFER Trial (16th April, 2020) - It will come as no surprise that we (like so many research studies and trials) have halted recruitment. Having successfully completed the feasibility study, we were in the process of recruiting practices to the next stage (the internal pilot trial) when the coronavirus pandemic hit. We are keeping a close eye on developments and will […]