Record numbers benefiting from health research

More of our patients than ever before are receiving innovative and life-changing treatments, with more than 16,000 patients involved in clinical research at Barts Health.

As revealed today by the National institute for Health Research Barts Health tops the table for supporting the most life sciences studies in the country – giving our patients the highest level of access to cutting-edge treatments.

For the second year in a row, we are top of the table for research activity in commercial studies, supporting 158 industry sponsored studies in 2017/18, up from 149 in 2016/17.

Nicola Whitehill, aged 45, a barrister (non-practising), has taken part in three pharmaceutically-led clinical studies, since being diagnosed with rare Raynaud’s disease and Scleroderma – a chronic autoimmune disease.

Nicola, who was initially told she had 15 months to live in 1997 due to the aggressive nature of the disease said: “I’d recommend taking part in a clinical trial to any patient if they have the opportunity. Before I started taking part in clinical trials, having been told the disease I had was likely to kill me and had no cure – my situation was rather like an abyss. I am living proof that for best patient care and outlook, treatment at an expert specialist, research centre is crucial.”

With 429 studies and a five per cent increase in the total number of patients taking part in clinical research, Barts Health now comes in 7^th position nationally. It’s also good news for the rest of the country with a record number of patients haven taken part in research studies sponsored by the life sciences industry.

Professor Jo Martin, Director of Academic Health Sciences at Barts Health NHS Trust, said: “Today’s announcement is fantastic news for Barts Health and our patients. As leaders in life sciences our clinical research is pushing boundaries and expanding treatment options for patients. It’s an exciting time and I’m looking forward to seeing how our research develops as we continue to change the face of healthcare for the future.”

The NIHR’s annual research figures highlight the top performing NHS trusts nationally, and place trusts within the Clinical Research Network North Thames (CRN North Thames) area in some key positions. This year’s figures, which cover the twelve month period between April 2017 to March 2018, show that that health research is thriving across the CRN North Thames region and that NHS trusts across the area continue to be seen as a world leading place to deliver high quality clinical trials.