Chris Whitehouse, a political consultant and expert on medical technology policy and regulation at Whitehouse Communications, an advisor to MedTech suppliers, chair of the Urology Trade Association, and governor of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, sets out Government’s commitment to securing the involvement of millions of patients in clinical trials through the NHS 10 Year Plan.
Anticipating the imminent publication of its NHS 10 Year Plan, Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has committed the NHS to involve millions more patients in clinical research on cutting-edge medicines and devices. By participating, patients can be early beneficiaries of innovative treatments and Government can harness the economic benefits of positioning the UK as a hotbed of innovation.
Under the plans, millions of people will be able to search for and sign up to lifechanging clinical trials, via the NIHR Be Part of Research service on the NHS App, allowing patients to browse and find the trials best suited to their interests and needs.
Eventually the plan will see the NHS App automatically match patients with studies based on their own health data and interests, sending push notifications to phones about relevant new trials to which to sign up.
It comes as the NIHR launches a UK-wide recruitment drive for clinical trials – the biggest ever health research campaign – to get as many people involved in research as possible. Adults across the UK are being urged to register, with underrepresented groups including young people, Black people and people of South Asian heritage particularly encouraged to sign up, at bepartofresearch.uk
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The UK has been at the forefront of scientific and medical discovery throughout our history. Some country will lead the charge in the emerging revolution in life sciences, and why shouldn’t it be Britain?”
In recent years, the UK has fallen behind as a global destination for these trials, with patients and the wider economy missing out. It takes around 100 days to set up a trial in Spain, but around 250 days in the NHS. The plan will see commercial clinical trial set-up times fall to 150 days or less by March 2026 – this, says the Department of Health and Social Care, will be the most ambitious reduction in trial set-up times in British history.
The Author used AI in preparing this article, comments upon or questions about which can be addressed to chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com.
