Deliver research beyond the hospital clinic
Access wider patient populations in diverse settings
In the UK, only the patients with the most severe illness are treated in hospitals. Companies seeking to conduct research into common and chronic conditions will need to look beyond the hospital clinic to access the right patient populations.
We offer comprehensive support for commercial companies looking to deliver health and social care research in many diverse settings across the UK. These include, but are not limited to:
- GP surgeries
- hospices
- care homes
- sheltered accommodation
- schools
- community hubs
- places of worship
- prisons
- pharmacies
- ambulance services
- opticians and other community-based providers
- people’s homes
Delivering research in these settings means you can access large, diverse and often underserved patient populations. You can also access patients who are at different stages of their disease progression, such as at the point of diagnosis or those who are self-managing long-term conditions.
The information below and case studies on this page describe this offer in more detail.
Agile Research Delivery
Our Agile Research Delivery teams respond to research delivery needs as they emerge. We have 12 regional teams covering England. Each team comprises highly skilled and experienced research, health and care professionals who are committed to innovating and path-finding non-traditional approaches to research delivery.
Agile Research Delivery teams help to make research more inclusive and accessible by taking research into new and diverse settings. They can also provide insight and advice to help researchers to design people-centred research. For example, they can support remote delivery of trial activities for decentralised and hybrid trials.
Agile Research Delivery stories
Plan and deliver research in general practices
General Practitioners (GPs) are often the first point of contact for healthcare delivery in the UK and many conditions are routinely diagnosed and managed in primary care. More than 1 million people will attend a GP appointment on an average day in the National Health Service (NHS).
The general practice setting offers unique opportunities and benefits for researchers. General practices are usually smaller, agile organisations that can set studies up quickly and GPs have established relationships with patients. They know which trials are relevant for their patients and this often results in higher than average recruitment and retention rates.
We support GPs to deliver research. We provide mechanisms for them to learn about upcoming research and express their interest in becoming investigators. Our Agile Research Delivery team can also work with general practice staff to conduct research activities on site.
56%
of GP practices took part in NIHR-supported research
The number of GPs leading and supporting commercial research in the UK is increasing year-on-year, with 56% currently research active. We have data on which GPs are research-ready and, through our site identification service, we can help you to engage general practices in the ideal locations to meet your specific study needs.
If you need help to plan a trial in a general practice setting, we can also connect you with primary care clinical experts. Our experts can advise on all aspects of trial planning from care pathways to advising on the deliverability of your draft protocol.
If you need to deliver a large scale study, we can also help you to explore opportunities to engage ‘hub and spoke’ and PIC (Patient Identification Centres) recruitment models in primary care to extend the recruitment reach of your study.
Fast and predictable costing and contracting general practice
We have a voluntary scheme to speed up commercial study set-up in general practices.
Individual practices can register their commitment to adhering to the National Contract Value Review (NCVR) process - the UK’s national approach to costing and contracting for commercial contract research.
These practices will accept nationally generated prices and without further negotiation. Commercial sponsors can consult the list of General Practices accepting NCVR prices when making site selection decisions. View the practices on the NCVR Primary Care dashboard.
Primary care case studies
Plan and deliver research in care homes
For research focused on long-term chronic conditions in adults and older patients, care homes offer a diverse landscape. With more than 11,000 care homes in the UK and approximately 410,000 residents (2017 CMA Care Homes Market Study data), this setting provides a diverse cross-section of the older adult population.
The EnRICH initiative, co-funded by NIHR, supports researchers to engage with care home residents, ensuring equitable access to health research. There are currently more than 850 research-ready care homes registered with ENRICH and this continues to increase.
Our national and local teams can assist with all aspects of study delivery in care homes, from feasibility, through to site identification, study set-up, and recruitment.
More about research delivery in care homes
Conducting research in care homes: Benefits and opportunities
In this video Care Home Manager Mary Harrison and Research Nurse Angus Sturrock discuss the benefits of conducting commercial research in care homes.
Plan and deliver research in community pharmacies
There are around 11,500 community pharmacies in England, according to data from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).
Community pharmacies often offer convenient opening hours, out-of-hours support, access at weekends, and do not require appointments. This makes them an ideal setting for research and a good option for researchers who are keen to prioritise patient experience, or access underserved communities.
Community pharmacies also provide access to patient populations at a different, and often very early, stage of their illness or condition (compared to access through a GP or secondary care). In addition, people with long-term conditions often see their pharmacist more frequently than they see their GP, for instance when collecting repeat prescriptions.
We can help you to plan and deliver research in community pharmacies. We have regional Community Pharmacy Research Champions who help researchers to access the research-ready pharmacies in their area. Our national and local teams can also assist with all aspects of study delivery from feasibility through to site identification, study set-up and recruitment.
Learn more about delivering research in community pharmacies
Conducting research in community pharmacies: Benefits and opportunities
Watch: Discover some of the unique benefits and opportunities that pharmacies offer to research delivery.
More support from the NIHR
This is just one of the ways we work in partnership with life science organisations to help you to plan and deliver research in the UK. Discover our full range of services and explore more UK research delivery strengths:
Services and support for the life sciences industry
Spotlights on UK research delivery