AN AGE old argument over a teatime favourite was used to shine a spotlight on clinical trials.

Staff from Dorset County Hospital’s research team marked International Clinical Trials Day by inviting people to take part in a mock trial to finally decide what is the best way to eat a scone: the Devonshire method of cream first, or the Cornish technique of jam first.

Lead research nurse Simon Sharpe said the day is marked every year, on or around May 20, by the National Institute of Health Research, to commemorate the first ever clinical trial by James Lind.

Mr Sharpe said: “Lind was a pioneer of hygiene and set out to discover a potential treatment for scurvy. He randomised pairs of sailors who all received different treatment – cider, salt water and lemons – and he found that the two who had lemons were cured.

“Our trial involved randomising people on a ratio of 1:1 to receive either a Devonshire or Cornish cream tea. It’s quite cleverly designed because most people feel very strongly which way around the cream and jam should go, and to take part in real clinical trials patients need to understand that they might not get the treatment they want. They might get the placebo.”

DCH has a team of 30 staff working in research and the event gave them a chance to speak to people about their work. There are currently 93 open clinical trials actively recruiting patients, 71 in the follow-up stage and a further 42 which are being examined for feasibility or in the early stage of being set up.

The team actively screens for patients who are eligible for trials using the hospital database, but those receiving treatment are also encouraged to ask their doctors if there is a trial they may be suitable for.

Clinical trials have a list of ‘inclusion’ and ‘exclusion’ eligibility criteria and to be considered, patients must have all of the former and none of the latter.

Mr Sharpe said: “Some are looking for very specific diseases, certain symptoms, and if a patient does not meet these we can’t include them.

“We currently have 1,200 patients recruited on clinical trials and, for a small hospital, that’s quite an achievement.”

He added: “The idea of medical trials is to improve and identify treatments – this might be medical devices or genetic research. It’s to advance medical science so we can provide better treatments for our patients.”

And so to the question on everyone’s lips: did the Devonshire or Cornish cream tea come out on top?

“We had 106 people take part,” Mr Sharpe said. 
“And they were equally split, with 50 per cent preferring cream on top and 50 per cent saying jam was better.”