Research clinical trials

What is a clinical trial?

Clinical trials are medical research studies involving people. Clinical trials are carried out to try to answer specific questions about health and illness. They aim to test whether different treatments are safe and how well they work. Some trials involve healthy members of the public, whereas others involve patients who may be offered the option of taking part in a trial during their care and treatment. Clinical trials are carried out to try to answer specific questions.

How are people recruited to a trial?

A clinical trial is often run in a number of different hospitals or health centres. The doctor or nurse who asks you to take part in a clinical trial may not be the person who designed and set up the study, especially if it is very large.

However, they will have been fully briefed about the study before agreeing to become involved. They can give you all the information you need and will be able to answer your questions.

Who do I contact to register for clinic trials?

Please email rsc-tr.researchanddevelopment@nhs.net.

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