Take part in research

Research and development

How you can help

Research is vital to improving the care that we all receive when we're unwell. We have a strong track record of turning advances in the laboratory into better treatments for patients. We can only do this thanks to the patients and members of the public who take part in clinical research.

Why take part?

You can help improve healthcare by taking part in research studies. Taking part in clinical research is a personal decision, and it's always your decision.

Some research studies involve healthy members of the public. Others involve patients taking part in a trial during their care and treatment. Some clinical research involves the use of patient data.

People take part in clinical research for many reasons. Some want to give something back to society, others want to help to develop better ways to care for patients. Some take part to have access to new, experimental treatments that are not yet widely available.

We aim to ensure that all patients have an opportunity to take part in clinical research. Whether you decide to take part or not, you will receive the best treatment available for your condition.

How to take part

If you're thinking about taking part in research, you can ask your healthcare professional, or you can visit the services pages for information relevant to your health condition. You can also find contact details to ask about clinical research studies on your condition or disease area.

To find out about other clinical trials (not just ones at Guy’s and St Thomas’), visit the national Be Part of Research website. This website explains what is involved if you participate in a clinical trial. You can also sign up to be contacted if a suitable trial becomes available.

What to consider before taking part

If you're thinking about taking part in clinical research, there are some important things to consider:

all trials have defined patient requirements, specific to each trial. They may, for example, require patients to have a specific genetic makeup or specific stage of disease, not everyone will be eligible to take part
your involvement, the time required and the benefits and risks depend on the research. The research team will be able to provide you with details
taking part doesn't necessarily mean that you'll receive a new treatment
all our studies are approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities. Anyone undertaking research in the Trust must be approved by the research and development department

Support our work as an expert by experience or a research advisor

You can become involved in our research as an expert by experience or a research advisor. By doing this you can help us to decide:

what research we undertake
how our research is developed and delivered
how we share the finding of our research with patients and the public

We have many groups for patients to feed into how we govern and conduct our research.

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