CLCH leads the way in opening more research studies in North West London

Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH) is leading the way in opening more studies, topping the table nationally for the biggest percentage increase in all studies.

The latest figures indicate that CLCH has gone from just three studies in 2015/16 to nine in 2016/17, or a rise of 200%.

According to latest figures published by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)(1) more people than ever before are being given access to new and better treatments through taking part in clinical research. In total, North West London residents took part in 923 studies this year, up from 857 last year.

Current innovative studies taking place in CLCH include: the Familial Parkinson's study which is being carried out to explore the mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease due to the similar nature of the symptoms in families; the pioneering LRRK2 study which focuses on a gene variant found in Jewish patients; and the LoTS-2-Care longer-term stroke care research programme that aims to improve outcomes after stroke by addressing the longer-term needs of patients and carers living at home in the community.

Andrew Ridley, Chief Executive of CLCH, said: "We're delighted and proud to be named as the Trust with the biggest percentage increase nationally in research studies.

"Both here and across the UK research is evolving and becoming a focus point for healthcare organisations. Our research and development team have done a fantastic job in substantially increasing the number of studies undertaken here over the last year. Importantly, the team have given our clinical staff the components, advice and confidence to explore research activity to improve and advance our healthcare provision.

"CLCH is committed to supporting staff to undertake high-quality research and help improve people's health. Our future aim is to become a centre of excellence in out-of-hospital community healthcare delivery and innovation."

Over the last five years, the NIHR has recruited more than 3.1(2) million participants(3) into clinical research studies, enabling more patients to benefit from improved care.

The number of participants recruited into clinical research studies in North West London in 2016-17 reached 27,239, over 2000 more than in 2015/16.

They joined over 665,000 participants nationally, the highest number in any given year since the launch of the NIHR Research Activity League Table(4).

Dr Joanne Medhurst, Medical Director at CLCH, said: "CLCH has a small but committed research team who are encouraging community clinical teams to participate in clinical research. We continue to think about how we develop and strengthen a research culture within the Trust. We have been actively supported by the clinical research network to do this which has helped drive this improvement in performance."

Notes to editors

(1). All data represents clinical research studies supported by the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN). Data are sourced from the NIHR CRN Portfolio of studies. More information is available at: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/research-and-impact/nihr-clinical-research-network-portfolio/

(2). Numbers over 1 million have been rounded to the nearest 100,000. Figures between 100,000 and 1 million have been rounded to the nearest 5,000. Percentages have been rounded to whole numbers.

(3). These figures should not be cited as a count of people because a person may participate in more than one study.

(4). Results from the 2016-17 NIHR Research Activity League Table are available at https://www.nihr.ac.uk/research-and-impact/nhs-research-performance/league-tables/

Further background about NIHR:

The NIHR supports clinical research to be set up and delivered more efficiently across healthcare in England. The number of clinical research studies delivering in line with the study's planned delivery targets have increased significantly over the last five years. Since 2011-12:

• The proportion of non-commercial studies finishing on time has doubled from 41 per cent to 83 per cent in 2016-17.
• The proportion of commercial contract studies has increased by almost two thirds, from 45 per cent to 73 per cent in 2016-17.

Significant increases were also recorded in the number of new and open studies supported by the NIHR over the same period. In 2016-17:

• There were 2,055 new studies added to the NIHR Clinical Research Network Portfolio, representing a 50 per cent increase since 2011-12 (1,367).
• The number of studies open to recruitment stood at 5,486, an increase of 45 per cent since 2011-12 (3,785).

For further information relating to NIHR contact:
Danielle Neal, Communications Manager, Clinical Research Network North West London
t. 020 3313 4117 | m. 07788 388 082 | e. danielle.neal@nihr.ac.uk