Research

Friary House Surgery is working with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Clinical research

Over 24,000 patients and healthy members of the public take part in clinical research in the South West of England. A significant number hear about the opportunity to participate in a health research study through their GP and are recruited to a study run by their local practice.

There are rigorous processes in place, including a review by an NHS Research Ethics Committee, to protect the rights, dignity, safety and wellbeing of participants in research.
Clinical trials are research studies in which people help test treatments or approaches to prevention or diagnosis of health conditions to evaluate whether they are safe and effective.

Each trial is designed to keep risk to a minimum. Research active health professionals can only ask people to take part in a study who are suitable for the treatments.

Clinical trials are one stage of long and thorough health research. Trials are carried out in carefully planned phases, allowing researchers to ask and answer questions in a way to provide reliable information in the best interests of the participants.

Trials are an important part of the process the NHS goes through in making decisions about which approaches to prevent, diagnose or treat conditions should be made available to the public.

Research study participants say benefits of taking part include:

  • Learning more about their health condition and how best to manage it
  • Feeling empowered
  • Access to the very latest treatments
  • Feeling good knowing that they are helping others even if not going to necessarily reap the benefits directly themselves
  • Satisfaction of contributing to medical advances
  • Reassured health care professionals are doing their best for their patients
  • Reassured by closer monitoring of their health condition
  • Research gives hope

To find out what clinical research studies are running – www.ukctg.nihr.ac.uk – (national database held by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) which is the research arm of the NHS.

Or ask your clinician treating you if there are any suitable opportunities for your participation in research studies at this practice.

 

 

This practice is participating in a national surveillance programme that provides continuous monitoring of infections and diseases in the community. The surveillance system is called the Weekly Returns Service (WRS) and it is co-ordinated by the Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre.

All information is collected completely anonymously. The information is extremely important for protecting the whole population and we hope therefore you will feel happy to contribute, though it does not involve you personally in any way. The project has been reviewed and supported by an ethics committee, who were happy that we have taken all measures necessary to ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained.

However, there is a mechanism by which a patient can decide not to allow their information to be used. Please inform reception if this is your wish and he/she will see to it that your information will not be included in the anonymised database.

Trials

Partners 2 Research Study

Working with mental health service users, carers and practitioners to develop a new mental health service based in GP surgeries, called the PARTNERS Service.

ACT-FLARE Study (Acute flares and flare phenotypes in knee osteoarthritis)

ACT-FLARE study is being run by NIHR Clinical Research Network South West Peninsula.

CPMS ID 37756

Tars (Trial of physical activity assisted reduction of smoking)

We are currently signed up to a study called Tars (Trial of physical activity assisted reduction of smoking): www.ukctg.nihr.ac.uk

Tars trial is run by Plymouth University Peninsula School of Medicine and Dentistry in collaboration with the Universities of Oxford, Nottingham and St Georges of London buy is funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme.

Early Arthritis

Early Arthritis study is being run by NIHR Clinical Research Network South West Peninsula.

CLASP

CLASP  study is being run by NIHR Clinical Research Network South West Peninsula.

Privacy

GDPR in relation to research within GP practices