Data showing which primary care organisations are performing well in terms of clinical research activity – and those not so well – will be made publicly available, under measures set out in the 10 Year Health Plan.
All organisations, including primary care sites, universities and NHS Trusts, will need to submit data on the number of clinical trials they are conducting, whether they have commercial or non-commercial sponsors, and the amount of progress being made, the Government announced today.
The information will be made available to the Government, patients, investors and Trust boards.
And the Department of Health and Social Care (DSHC) has warned that Government funding will be ‘prioritised’ for best performers.
A raft of other changes are also being brought in to boost clinical research in the UK, with the Government admitting that the country ‘has fallen behind as a global destination for these trials’.
One of its key goals is to speed up commercial clinical trials by reducing the time it takes to set them up to 150 days or less by March 2026. Currently, it takes around 250 days to set up a trial in the NHS – in Spain it is just 100 days.
The DHSC said it will remove delays by reducing ‘unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication of activities across different agencies and sites’. For example, a national standardised contract will be introduced to replace the requirement for trials to agree separate contracts with different parts of the NHS involved, saving ‘months of wasted time’.
There will also be simplified paperwork ‘to remove duplication on technical assurances’, so if any authority asks for evidence from a study, it can be provided once without having to ‘spend time reframing that evidence differently to meet a separate criteria for another authority’.
Another major change to help grow recruitment to clinical trials, will be giving patients the ability to search for and sign up to studies via the NHS App, the Government said.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Be Part of Research service, will be integrated into the app so patients can more easily look for trials best suited to their needs. Eventually, the plan is for the NHS App to automatically match patients with studies based on their health data and interests, and for push notifications to be sent to them about relevant new trials they can register for.
The plans have been unveiled as the NIHR launches a UK-wide campaign to increase the number of adults participating in clinical trials, particularly from underrepresented groups, including young people, Black people and those from South Asian heritage.
Professor Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser at the DHSC and chief executive officer of the NIHR, said embedding clinical research across the NHS leads to ‘better care for patients, more opportunities for our workforce and provides a huge economic benefit for our health and care system’.
She added: ‘Integrating into the NHS App, the NIHR Be Part of Research service enables members of the public to be matched to vital trials, ensuring the best and latest treatments and care get to the NHS quicker.
‘Ensuring all sites are consistently meeting the 150-day or less set-up time will bring us to the starting line, but together we aim to go further, faster to ensure the UK is a global destination for clinical research to improve the health and wealth of the nation.’
Nicola Perrin, chief executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities warned that commercial and non-commercial trials in the UK have closed because of failures to recruit.
‘Today’s announcements will help to maximise opportunities for everyone to take part in research and speed up access to innovative treatments. We warmly welcome the focus on driving up the participation of diverse and under-served groups – something that is incredibly important to our member charities.’
Earlier this month, GP practices and PCNs were told by NHS England that any cost-saving measures taken should not lead to ‘reductions in research staff’ to ensure research funding was used for its ‘intended purpose’.
