Our Research

NWAngliaFT serves a diverse community enabling us to reach out to an under-served population.  

The Research Team consists of research nurses, practitioners, radiographers, clinical trial assistants, and research administrators who support clinical trials across a variety of specialites. We have an experienced Pharmacy Team and other supporting departments available.

We have the capacity to support the co-ordination and delivery of research trials in a timely and efficient manner. All team members are Good Clinical Practice trained as are our Principal Investigators and consultants who would act as co-investigators.

CRN East of England Network support is available to us if required. 

We pride ourselves on our time to target achievements.

We recognise the important role that innovation and intellectual property plays in improving patient care.  

We are dedicated to supporting staff members in developing innovative ideas that can result in improvements to patient care.  We work in partnership with Health Tech Enterprise who can provide the expertise and a gateway to finding suitable collaborators whilst ensuring your idea is given Intellectual Protection.

Please contact the Research Team on: 01480 363586 or email: nwangliaft.rddepartment@nhs.net

Clinical Study – a research study involving human volunteers (also called participants) that is intended to add to medical knowledge.

Confidentiality – researchers must put data control measures into place, to ensure all of the information collected about the participants is kept confidential.  This means the researchers must get the participants’ written permission to look at their medical or social care records. It also means that any information that might identify the individual participant cannot be used or passed on to others, without first getting the participants’ consent. For example, when researchers publish the results of a trial, they are not allowed to include people’s names. This confidentiality can only be broken in extreme circumstances: where it is essential for the person’s care, treatment or safety, where it is required by a court order, for example in a criminal investigation, or where it is necessary to protect the public.

Eligibility – a clinical assessment of whether a potential participant meets the inclusion and exclusion criteria for a study.

Ethics – these are principles that guide researchers who carry out research with people.  The principles are designed to protect the dignity, safety, rights and well-being of people taking part.  They include asking individuals to give their informed consent to take part in a research project.

Ethics committees - the job of an ethics committee is to make sure that research carried out respects the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of the people who take part. Increasingly ethics committee approval is needed for health and social care research. Ethics committee members include researchers and health care professionals as well as members of the public.

Good Clinical Practice (GCP) – this is a set of internationally recognised ethical and scientific quality requirements which must be observed for designing, conducting, recording and reporting clinical trials involving humans.

HRA – Health Research Authority – an NHS organisation established to protect and promote the interests of patients and the public in health research.

Informed consent – a process used by researchers to communicate to potential and enrolled participants the risks and potential benefits of participating in a clinical study.

Interventional study – a type of clinical trial in which participants are assigned to groups that receive one or more intervention/treatment (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes. The assignments are determined by the study's protocol. Participants may receive diagnostic, therapeutic, or other types of interventions.

MHRA – Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency – the authority responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe in the UK.

NIHR – National Institute of Health and Care Research – established by Department of Health to provide the framework and management of research within NHS England.

Participant – an individual who is studied in a trial, often, but not necessarily a patient.

Patient Information Leaflet - researchers must provide a patient information leaflet to everyone they invite to take part in a research study, to ensure people can make an informed decision about this. The leaflet explains what taking part will involve and should include details about: why the research is being done, how long it will last, and what methods will be used; the possible; contact details; how the results will be shared with others.

Placebo – an inactive treatment that looks the same as, and is given the same way as, an active drug or intervention / treatment being studied.

Principal investigator (PI) – the person at a site who takes responsibility within the research team for the conduct of a study.

Protocol – the plan or set of steps to be followed in a study.  It will include the studies objectives, design and methods.  It may also include the scientific background and statistical information relevant to the study.

Screening – the process of identifying eligible patients prior to approaching them to ask if they are willing to consent to participate in a study.

Sponsor – the organisation or person who initiates a study and who has authority and control over the study.

We are looking for people to join our Patient and Public Involvement Panel. 

Joining the panel means that patients, carers, family members and the public contribute to how our Trust research is designed, conducted and disseminated. 

Please note it does not refer to research participants taking part in a study.  No experience is required. 

If this sounds like something you are interested in, please email your contact details, including name, date of birth and areas of research to nwangliaft.rddepartment@nhs.net.