St George’s recruited over 13,000 patients to clinical trials during 2018/19 – by far and away the most ever during a 12 month period.

Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March this year, a total of 13,140 patients took part in a range of clinical trials across nearly 30 different specialties.

This is more than double the number of patients recruited during 2017/18 (6, 576) and 2016/17 (5,151) – and is evidence of the big step change we have seen in the way clinical trials are being carried out across the Trust.

Clinical genetics recruited the most patients to clinical trials (2,563), whilst our children’s, cardiovascular, and stroke services recruited the most for their respective specialities in south London. Our emergency department at St George’s recruited 1,014 patients to clinical trials duriung 2018/19 – the most for their speciality anywhere in the country.

Clinical trials at the Trust are facilitated by Joint Research and Enterprise Services, which is run jointly by the Trust and the university. Many of our patients are seen in the Clinical Research Facility at St George’s, which is available to all investigators in the Trust and university.

Mark Cranmer, Director of Joint Research and Enterprise Service, said:

“This is fantastic progress, and proves again that there is a huge appetite amongst our clinicians – and the patients who use hospital services – to participate in clinical research.”

Dr Daniel Forton, Associate Medical Director at St George’s and Trust lead for research, added:

“I am grateful to the increasing numbers of staff who are embedding research into their everyday work – and we are now competing with the very best in London, and nationally, when it comes to recruitment to clinical trials.

“However, I am also keen that we all see this as a stepping stone to go on to bigger and better things so that staff are able to get increasingly involved in a broader range of research activities, including leading new programmes locally and nationally.”

Anyone wishing to find out more about clinical research at St George’s, including patients, please visit: https://www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/education-and-research/research/joint-research-and-enterprise-office-jreo/