Pictured: East Lancashire Hospitals recruited over 100 patients for the GRASP pain study
More people than ever are taking part in clinical research in Greater Manchester and East Lancashire, according to new figures released July 2 by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN).
In East Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, research staff at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) recruited 7.1 per cent more patients for national and local studies - an increase of 131 to a total of 1,972 research patients in 2018/19.
Michelle Stephens, Research Manager at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
“What’s happening here in East Lancashire is really impressive. Once again, we have increased the number of patients involved in clinical research, an excellent achievement for the relatively small Research and Development team we have at East Lancashire Hospitals.
“Research is about finding new knowledge that can lead to changes in treatments and care, and our hard working team will continue to invest in clinical research for the benefit of everyone.”
Research highlights in East Lancashire during 2018/19 included physiotherapy researchers recruiting more than 100 patients for a pain study (GRASP), and a Clitheroe couple who gained national publicity for a fertility study they participated in.
In 2018/19, CRN Greater Manchester recruited 83,478 participants across the region, surpassing the previous highest total by more than 21,000.
This total accounts for 9.5 per cent of all recruitment to studies in England last year, despite the fact the East Lancashire and Greater Manchester region accounts for around only 5 per cent of the population.
The 83,478 participants were recruited across 1,105 studies being carried out around the region.