Guy's and St Thomas' still number one for patient participation in research

More patients and healthy volunteers participated in research at Guy’s and St Thomas’ than at any other NHS trust in England, according to new figures published today (Wednesday 2 August).

In 2016-17, just over 25,000 patients took part in clinical studies at Guy’s and St Thomas’ meaning the Trust was ranked number one for the third year in a row.

The figures were released by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network alongside its annual Research Activity League Table, which details how much clinical research is happening, where, in what types of trusts, and the number of trial participants.

This shows that Guy’s and St Thomas’ also retained its position as London’s leading Trust for the number of active research studies with 500 taking place in the last year – the third highest in the country.

Professor Charles Wolfe, Director of Research and Development at Guy's and St Thomas' said: “Patients and members of the public play a vital role in all of our research. We are extremely grateful to people in our local communities and beyond for partnering with us in such great numbers and helping Guy’s and St Thomas’ to lead the country for public and patient participation in research for the third year running. ”

Alero Dabor, a cancer survivor and patient research advocate at Guy’s and St Thomas’ said: “I’m delighted to see Guy’s and St Thomas’ maintain its position as the country’s number one Trust for patient and public participation in research. Patients and members of the public are increasingly being seen less as just participants and more as partners in research and this can only be a good thing for everyone.”

Two other Trusts in South London also performed well this year. South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust once again ran more research studies than any another other mental health Trust in the country. King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust had a 40% increase – to 20,683 – in the number of people participating in clinical research.

Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley are all part of King's Health Partners (KHP), an Academic Health Science Centre which brings together world-class research, education and clinical practice for the benefit of patients.

Professor Sir Robert Lechler, Executive Director of King's Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre, says: “Investment in research leads to better and more cost-effective treatments which improves the quality of care for our patients and service users. We know that NHS organisations involved in clinical research achieve better health outcomes, so I am delighted to see all three of our trusts performing so well.”

Both patients and healthy volunteers are encouraged to talk to their healthcare practitioners about participating in clinical research, as latest figures show that a growing number of NHS sites and general practices are research active.

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

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.

“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.”