Why is this important?

High quality research in the NHS is a core part of clinical care. We know that hospitals active in research have improved outcomes for patients.¹ And in England, the Care Quality Commission has now included clinical research activity as part of its remit for trust inspections. Many clinicians see research as an important part of their job but can be challenged by the lack of protected time for it.²

It’s important that every clinician working in the NHS is active in research, whether this is identifying opportunities for new research, recruiting patients, supporting colleagues or leading trials themselves.

Facilitating research should be part of core NHS activity and seen as a key indicator of improving patient care. Services should increase their research activity and healthcare professionals should be supported to pursue research activity as far as they wish to. This will mean more patients than ever can have the opportunity to be involved with or benefit from clinical research.

Healthcare professionals should:

• Be proactive in seeking opportunities for their patients to be involved in research by supporting local principal investigators and chief investigators
• Be able to easily access available information about current IBD research activity
• Actively seek opportunities to engage in recruiting patients to research studies
• Support colleagues and their IBD multidisciplinary teams to be research active
• Be encouraged and feel able to ask their doctor and their care team about opportunities to be involved in research
• Feel able to access tools and networks to learn about benefits, opportunities, participation and involvement in research
• Feel able to make informed choices about participating in research

Patients should:

• Be encouraged and feel able to ask their doctor and their care team about opportunities to be involved in research
• Feel able to access tools and networks to learn about benefits, opportunities, participation and involvement in research
• Feel able to make informed choices about participating in research

Further information

• Royal College of Physicians. Research for all: building a research active medical workforce. RCP. 2016
• BSG Clinical Research Strategy 2018
• Crohn’s & Colitis UK Research Strategy and Management
• Crohn’s & Colitis UK Research Involvement Opportunities
• CICRA Research Strategy

¹Based on clinical trial data published in: Downing A, Morris EJ, Corrigan N et al. High hospital research participation and improved colorectal cancer survival outcomes: a population-based study. Gut 2017;66:89-96. https://gut.bmj.com/content/66/1/89

²Jonker L, Fisher SJ. The correlation between National Health Service trusts’ clinical trial activity and both mortality rates and care quality commission ratings: a retrospective cross-sectional study. Public Health 2018;187:1–6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350618300015