Each year, on May 20th we celebrate the work of the remarkable research teams across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as we mark International Clinical Trials Day.
There are currently around 1,040 research studies happening across NHSGGC, with 402 new projects starting in the last year as post-pandemic activity increases, with teams offering opportunities for patients to take part in trials involving novel medicines, technologies and devices.
During the past year, there has been a significant focus on cancer, with the overall patient recruitment to related trials has now fully recovered following the pandemic and is now in line with 2019 figures. To further support the NHSGGC team’s commitment in this areas, £2.2 Million, which will be invested over the next five years, has been awarded to the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, giving a further boost to this important research work.
The NHSGGC multidisciplinary research teams include office based staff, biorepository, safehaven and front line staff such as committed medics, pharmacists, radiographers, research nurses, midwives, health care support workers, project managers, project assistants and education and quality assurance professionals, each bringing their unique skills and experience to each trial.
Lynn Prentice, Clinical Research Manager at the GCRF, said: “International Clinical Trials day gives us the opportunity to reflect on just how much research is going on in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and what a great team we have to support it.
“Patient centred care is at the heart of our work and each day we look at ways to offer the most advanced and latest treatments and medicines to those who need them most. Following on from the pandemic, our dedicated team have been working incredibly hard across areas that had to be paused during the pandemic. Not only are we grateful to our team for all of their hard work we can’t thank the patients we work with enough for the contribution they make to improving health care, science and services by taking part in these important trials.”
Professor Julie Brittenden, NHSGGC Director of Research and Innovation, added: “I would like to use International Clinical Trials Day to take the opportunity to thank our talented and committed multidisciplinary research teams. One of our primary aims in 2022, was to drive forward local research opportunities and initiatives to increase research capacity, while continuing to start new studies. We have been particularly fortunate that our team continues to adapt very well to some of the ongoing limitations brought about by the pandemic.
“The team has worked increasing hard to increase recruitment to our non-COVID trials, particularly those relating to high impact studies which aim to directly improve patient care and outcomes. This has been hugely important and has seen our patient recruitment numbers return to pre-pandemic levels, which will enable this vital work to continue to impact on the lives of so many people.”
