At both Warrington and Halton Hospital sites we participate in studies to promote medical research and improve care in the future for certain conditions.
These studies are large studies that often involve many patients in many different hospitals.
Our Research and Development (R&D) Department works closely with the clinical divisions within the hospitals to ensure we can offer patients the opportunity to participate in high quality research that has been approved by an independent ethical body.
The Trust recognises that participation in clinical research demonstrates our commitment to improving the quality of care we offer both by helping ensure our clinical staff stay abreast of the latest possible treatment options and because active participation in research leads to successful patient outcomes.
The department is funded by the National Institute for Health Research and takes part in nationally funded studies, patient stories on these can be found here.
We now have our own dedicated research and clinical trials facility at our Halton Hospital site which supports our research ambitions and aims to widen participation in research across Warrington, Halton and surrounding areas.
More information on Halton Clinical Research Unit (HCRU) can be found here.
If you are a patient with us, you may be asked by a consultant or approached by a research nurse/midwife to see if you would like to take part in a study or you may receive an invitation in the post. Some research studies just involve surveys and interviews, others may look at the effect of drugs and treatments.
You can be reassured that all research will first have been approved by an ethical committee which is independent from the hospital. Taking part is voluntary and you may change your mind at any time.
If you are invited to take part in a research study, you will be given a patient information leaflet that is specific to that study.
We are supported by the North West Coast Local Research Network which is part of the NHS National Institute for Health Research.
They have produced a booklet aimed specifically at people who wish to understand more about participating in health research, called understanding clinical trials.
Current studies
You can find pages with information on some of the studies we are involved with below: