UCLH is one of the top ten NHS trusts in the country for its research activities. With 421 clinical research studies recruiting participants in 2016/17, the trust is ranked 7th in the country, according to latest figures published by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
UCLH’s success came after the number of participants in research studies at the trust shot up by 28 per cent to over 12,000 compared to under 10,000 in 2015/6. The number of open studies has also increased - up by 8.5%.
The trust had the highest number of recruiting studies in the North Thames Clinical Research Network (CRN), which covers North East and North Central London, South and West Hertfordshire, South Bedfordshire and South West and Mid Essex.
The NIHR Research Activity League Table is published annually, detailing how much clinical research is happening, where, in what types of trusts and involving how many participants.
UCLH Director of Research Professor Bryan Williams said: ‘ World class research and clinical care go hand-in-hand, you rarely see one without the other. These figures stress yet again that UCLH is always striving to deliver leading edge research and clinical care as a centre of excellence.’
The 2016/17 table has given North Thames CRN cause to celebrate, showing a 61% increase in research activity throughout the network. Across the North Thames region 63,588 people were recruited into clinical research studies in 2016/17, over 17,000 more than the previous year.
These participants joined over 665,000 participants nationally, the highest number in any given year since the launch of the 'League Table' campaign.
Jonathan Sheffield, Chief Executive of the NIHR Clinical Research Network, said: “The increase in the number of clinical research participants last year and the improvements we are seeing in studies delivering to time and target are fantastic achievements that are contributing to better health and care outcomes in this country. Researchers can be more confident of being able to complete their studies, and more patients will benefit from new and better treatments becoming available. Overall, 65 per cent of trusts increased their research activity in 2016-17, demonstrating the growing appetite for research within the NHS. We must continue to invest in the opportunities that clinical research presents, by looking at more innovative ways of delivery and making better use of digital advancements in the health and care sector.”
Dr Sharon Barrett, Deputy Chief Operating Officer for CRN North Thames, said: “These results reflect the dedication across the area to continually improve healthcare, with participants getting involved in research exploring more effective treatments, techniques and prevention methods for a range of illnesses and diseases affecting the lives of millions. We are extremely grateful to all our partner trusts who continue to work so hard to ensure that we can offer a range of research involvement opportunities to our patients” Results from the 2016-17 NIHR Research Activity League Table are available on the NIHR website.
