Patients are part of the crew in health research not passengers. This week you can support them by getting behind the #iamresearch @OfficialNIHR #ICTD campaign

It’s a big week in research. To mark International Clinical Trials Day on Saturday 20th May, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is promoting its ‘I Am Research’ (#iamresearch) national campaign to raise awareness of the part played by patients, carers and the public in making research happen. From today until well into… Read More Patients are part of the crew in health research not passengers. This week you can support them by getting behind the #iamresearch @OfficialNIHR #ICTD campaign

Lancet study puts NIHR top of the intl league table for health research in the public interest inc. public involvement @TheLancet

Yesterday the Lancet published a study by Mona Nasser, Mike Clarke, Iain Chalmers and others looking at how well eleven international research founders are doing to reduce waste in research. This follows a series of articles by Chalmers et al over the last couple of years on the same issue. The study scored funders using… Read More Lancet study puts NIHR top of the intl league table for health research in the public interest inc. public involvement @TheLancet

The UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has launched a striking new poster campaign entitled #twosides to raise awareness of the importance of patients and the public to making health and social care research happen. There are three posters to choose from in the series and you can download or order posters here. These… Read More NIHR launches new poster campaign on public involvement in research #twosides @OfficialNIHR @NIHRINVOLVE

Last week I attended a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) workshop on older people with complex needs. The more common term used in medical and scientific circles for ‘complex needs’ is ‘multi-morbidity.’ Which means suffering from two or more conditions at the same time. But I prefer the former term. As statistics from the Office… Read More Seeing the patient and carer behind the many faces of ill-health #multimorbidity @JLAageing @OfficialNIHR @EngageFMS

There is much post-Brexit talk of using our new-found political independence to liberalise clinical trials in the U.K. We can cut ourselves free of all that terrible EU red-tape that has weighed us down. Or so the argument goes. We can be quicker and more efficient than other countries. We will be more attractive to… Read More The post-Brexit liberalisation of #clinicaltrials could be the way to a bolder ambition for the UK

My tickets for the FA Cup Final arrived in the post yesterday. I am very excited indeed. I have a feeling that my team will bring the trophy home to south London where it belongs. It is that time of year when football fans are living on their nerves as their team battles to win… Read More ‘Stand up if you love clinical research’ on Intl Clinical Trials Day, 20 May #NIHRoktoask #NHSresearch

I do not ascribe to the view that you have to be ‘scientific literate’ as a pre-requisite to taking part in science. In the same way that I do not think you need to be fluent in French before you can enjoy a holiday or set up home there. Nothing beats immersion in the way of… Read More Have you joined the new online course revolutionising the way the public can learn about clinical research? @NIHRCRN MOOC