Research

Research helps us increase our knowledge about human health and wellbeing.  This is so we can:

• provide life changing treatments
• diagnose diseases earlier or more accurately
• prevent people from developing conditions
• improve health and care for generations to come
• ensure everyone has a better quality of life.

Overall, the aim is to find out whether what is being tested is better than what is currently available.  This can include therapies, medicines and services.

Although health professionals already know a great deal, there are still so many questions that need answers.

We currently support research activity within several clinical fields including:

• Anaesthetics
• Cardiology
• Critical Care
• Gastroenterology
• Oncology
• Orthopaedics
• Paediatrics
• Rheumatology
• Sexual Health
• Surgery and Neurology
• Urology
• Urogynaecology

Every minute in the UK, someone is diagnosed with a disease or a condition. The treatment and support they will receive will, at some point, have been informed by research. Whether it’s testing a new medicine, a new surgery procedure or scan, or trying healthier lifestyle choices to prevent disease, everyone has an important role to play – if they want to.

Important discoveries so far

Research helps to provide those answers.  Here are some important research discoveries that shape our healthcare today:

Penicillin was discovered in 1928 and developed into a drug in the early 1940s. Today it’s used to treat a broad range of bacterial infections accounting for around 45% of the antibiotics prescribed in the NHS in England.

Research in the 1980s and 1990s showed that low doses of blood-thinning drugs such as aspirin and warfarin significantly reduced the number of heart attacks and strokes in people at risk.

Clinical trials assess new treatments, technologies or methods, whilst other research studies help better understand health and specific conditions.

What is a clinical trial?

A clinical trial compares the effects of 1 treatment with another. It may involve patients, healthy people, or both.

Testing a new medicine

All clinical trials of new medicines go through a series of phases to test whether they’re safe and whether they work.

The medicines will usually be tested against another treatment called a control.

This will either be a dummy treatment (a placebo) or a standard treatment already in use.

Phase 1 trials

A small number of people, who may be healthy volunteers, are given the medicine.

The drug is being trialled in human volunteers for the first time.

Researchers test for side effects and calculate what the right dose might be to use in treatment.

Researchers start with small doses and only increase the dose if the volunteers do not experience any side effects, or if they only experience minor side effects.

Phase 2 trials

The new medicine is tested on a larger group of people who are ill. This is to get a better idea of its effects in the short term.

Phase 3 trials

Carried out on medicines that have passed phases 1 and 2.

The medicine is tested in larger groups of people who are ill, and compared against an existing treatment or a placebo to see if it’s better in practice and if it has important side effects.

Trials often last a year or more and involve several thousand patients.

Phase 4 trials

The safety, side effects and effectiveness of the medicine continue to be studied while it’s being used in practice.

Not required for every medicine.

Only carried out on medicines that have passed all the previous stages and have been given marketing licences – a licence means the medicine is available on prescription.

Why join a clinical trial?

Clinical trials help doctors understand how to treat a particular illness. It may benefit you, or others like you, in the future.

If you take part in a clinical trial, you may be one of the first people to benefit from a new treatment.

But there’s also a chance that the new treatment turns out to be no better, or worse, than the standard treatment.

Will I get paid?

Some clinical trials offer payment, which can vary from hundreds to thousands of pounds depending on what’s involved and expected from you.

Some trials do not offer payment and just cover your travel expenses.

It’s important to find out about the inconvenience and risks involved before you sign up, and to carefully weigh up whether it’s worth it.

Bear in mind:

• it can be time consuming – you may be expected to attend a number of screening and follow-up sessions, and some trials require you to stay overnight
• there may be restrictions on what you can and cannot do – for example, you may be asked to not eat or not drink alcohol for a period of time
• you may experience unknown side effects from the treatment

Where can I find the results to a study?

It may take several months before the results of a study are available, even after a study has finished collecting data. If you’ve taken part in a study, you can ask the study team how you can find out the results of the study.

For studies listed on Be Part of Research, we will try to update the information on our site with any publications, but you can also go back to the initial sources, ClinicalTrials.gov or ISRCTN.com where the publications may be listed.

Any studies which were funded by NIHR should publish their results on the NIHR journals library.

There are many opportunities to support research. Whether it’s learning more about it or suggesting topics, there are lots of ways you can help to improve health and care in the UK.

Volunteer to improve research

If you have a more time, feel confident enough to get more involved or have already taken part in a research study you might be interested in a more formal volunteer role:

Become a Research Champion

Research Champions are patients, carers, members of the public, people who have taken part in a research study before, as well as those who haven’t. Something that they all have in common is that they are passionate about getting more people involved in research so that we can develop better care and treatment for everyone.

Research Champions volunteer their time to help spread the word about health and care research to patients and the public, and especially those groups who are currently less likely to take part in research. They also help research and healthcare staff understand more about the experiences of those who take part in research.

Interested in becoming a Research Champion visit the National Institute for Health Research website for more information.

People in Research

People in Research is an online list of the opportunities available to you. Researchers use it to find members of the public who want to get involved in their research. Click here to view the current opportunities

We are an active partner of the NIHR Clinical Research Network Kent, Surrey and Sussex, encouraging UK Clinical Research Network (UKCRN) portfolio trials into the hospital.

Many of the research studies which we run feature on the NIHR page #BePartofResearch which provides easy to understand information about clinical research trials running in the UK, and gives access to a range of information about these trials.

To find out about more about clinical research:

• Get in touch with a member of the clinical research team – Tel: 0300 131 4500 Ext: 771437 – Email: esh-tr.researchanddevelopment@nhs.net
• Take a look at Healthtalk website – you can find out about the experience of taking part in a clinical trial, by listening to people share their personal stories on film
• The Patient Advice and Liaison Service provides confidential, on-the-spot advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns you may have about the care we provide, guiding you through the different advice and support.
• To find out more about how trials are regulated, approved and funded in the UK visit the National Institute of Health Research website.

A UK-wide service that makes it easy for anyone to take part in vital dementia research. Anyone over 18 can sign up, whether you have dementia or not.

Simply register your details and a researcher will be in touch when an appropriate study becomes available. You can decide whether to take part in individual studies, with no obligation.