Plymouth spearheads NHS clinical research

Clinical research is on the rise in the NHS and Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust is spearheading the trend according to a new league table published last week.

Clinical research is a vital part of the NHS and provides the evidence required to establish ‘what works’ to help develop effective treatments for patient care. Last year Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust increased the number of studies from 144 in 2011/12 to 165 in 2012/13, contributing to the national drive for better treatments for all NHS patients.

Lisa Vickers, Research & Development Manager said: “Lisa Vickers, Research & Development Manager said: “This is as a result of a huge team effort, especially from the research nurses who have worked so hard this year. Our trials bring the latest developments in health care to Plymouth patients and patients can be assured that if they are recruited to a research study at Derriford, they have access to well designed and well regulated studies.”

Commenting on the league table, Dr Jonathan Sheffield, Chief Executive of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network said: “Patients always tell us how important it is for the NHS to take part in clinical research. In fact, according to our latest consumer poll, 79 per cent of people think it is important for the NHS to carry out clinical research – whilst less than three per cent think it is unimportant.

“I would like to congratulate the Trust in Plymouth for increasing the number of studies they do locally, and helping to bring research opportunities to patients.

“I would also like to say a big thank you to all the patients who took part in clinical research studies in Trusts across the South West region. Without their help we could not keep improving care, which is what we all want to do.”

Published by the NIHR Clinical Research Network, the new league table shows the number of studies done by each NHS Trust in the last year and the number of patients who volunteered to take part in the research.

The clinical research league table is available online.

Patients and carers who want to find out more about clinical research can visit NHS Research