Research, Development & Innovation

Research banner Research is the future of healthcare

The things we learn today inform the way our patients are treated tomorrow, and that means research is central to the work we do at Royal Surrey.

Many people think that clinical research is something done by scientists in laboratories. Of course, that is occasionally true, but Royal Surrey a research active trust, which means that most of our research is done in the hospital itself.

Doctors, nurses and allied health professionals across the trust are working on research studies, with the essential help and support of our patients. Very often these studies are being carried out alongside clinical and patient care work. This helps ensure our staff are constantly learning, and the way we treat our patients is constantly improving.

The RD&I team

Because so much of our research is done in clinical settings, alongside our patient care work, it is vital that our clinicians have the help and support they need to carry out the work while still providing excellent patient care.

The Royal Surrey’s RD&I Department provides that support. Specialist Research Nurses work in a number of departments across the trust. Their role is to communicate with patients, and members of the public who are part of the study, and to ensure those patients receive the best clinical care.

Our admin team helps to get new research studies off the ground, they deal with regulatory and funding issues, and provide finance and project management support.

In addition, the trust has Divisional Research Leads working across trust. Divisional Research Leads are senior physicians who take overall responsibility for research activity within their specific speciality.