Research, innovation and discovering new knowledge is a fundamental part of our pioneering approach. We aim to enable as many of our patients as possible to take part in and benefit from cutting-edge clinical research.
Our staff
Doctors, nurses and allied health professionals – including physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, podiatrists and occupational therapists – are uniquely placed to inform and carry out a wide range of research.
Across our hospitals and research facilities, a network of hundreds of highly skilled doctors, nurses and other health professionals, work with patients across all disease areas and at different stages of illness, to discover new ways of enhancing their care.
NHS staff are aware of how health services affect patients every day, and have a valuable role in research looking at how to improve care. Their input is vital to inform the most appropriate research questions, to gather and evaluate evidence and to implement and share knowledge gained from research.
Newcastle Hospitals have a range of initiatives and support to encourage as many staff as possible to get involved in research.
Patients currently in hospital
As a patient under the care of Newcastle Hospitals, you could be offered the opportunity to take part in a research trial or study.
Each new study treatment goes through strict testing before it is offered widely to patients. This involves laboratory work and then testing with patients in a clinical trial. The whole process can take years and many routine treatments now in use were developed this way.
If you are interested in taking part in this important area of work, please speak to the clinical team providing your treatment.
Trials have guidelines about who is eligible to take part, to ensure the welfare of participants and to work out who will be best suited to get involved.
Patients will able to talk to doctors and the research team about details of the trial – the kind of treatment, possible side effects, and what extra tests might come as part of being involved. Written information will be provided, to take home and inform your decision or any further questions. Patients taking part in clinical trials are allowed to leave the trial at any time and don’t have to give a reason.
Patients who decide not to take part, or who are not eligible, will still continue to receive the best latest treatment.
Clinical trials in the community
Many patients with common long-term conditions are supported in the community, either by their GP or through self-care, with only occasional or infrequent hospital visits.
But research into trials to improve treatment for common conditions such as migraine, back pain, moderate asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, depression and common skin conditions, remains crucially important.
The NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre: Newcastle has been specifically established to recruit more patients from local communities to take part in ‘late phase’ (phase 3 or 4) clinical trials.
With a bespoke specialist facility on the Campus for Ageing and Vitality, run by a dedicated team of experienced researchers and clinicians, the unit provides dedicated facilities for these trials.
The team collaborates with experienced specialist consultants and the wider clinical research community across the region, to complement research taking place at earlier stages.
Links with local GP practices, primary care networks and patients are central to the successful recruitment of participants for trials.
The team want to reach a diverse range of participants from across the region and welcome GP referrals as well as direct enquiries from patients if a trial is relevant.
For general enquiries, please email nuth.PRCnewcastle@nhs.net
Patients can register their interest through the Research+Me registry
Alternatively your can email nuth.researchstudies@nhs.net or speak to one of our nurses:
Telephone: 0191 282 3655 or 0191 282 3979
