OXFORD University Hospitals NHS Trust has been ranked among England’s best for the time taken to begin clinical trials involving new medicines and treatments.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (OUH) is now ranked second out of the most research-active NHS Trusts for a key measure of how quickly clinical trials can be started.
The figures were analysed and reported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
The figures show 95 per cent of OUH studies analysed by NIHR recruited their first patient within 70 days from when processes began to get the trial underway at OUH hospitals
Beginning clinical trials quickly is vital to ensure new discoveries are applied to the NHS in a timely fashion and to allow researchers to complete the study and move on to further projects. It is also seen as key in attracting healthcare companies by giving business the confidence to work with the Trust.
The score covers the 12 month period to December 31 2014. It is a significant improvement on the 12 month period to December 31 2013, when only 35 per cent of patients were recruited within 70 days.
Sustained work by Research Teams at OUH saw the figures improve to 42 per cent in the 12 months to March 2014, 53 per cent in the 12 months to June 2014 and 70 per cent in the 12 months to September 2014.
The figures have been published by the NIHR, which is a major contributor towards clinical research funding in the NHS.
Prof Keith Channon, director of R&D at the Trust, said: “We have made an enormous amount of progress and the improvement is a testament to the hard work of our research staff, and to the research teams who invite their patients to participate in research studies.
“Getting studies started quickly is a vital step towards ensuring new discoveries are swiftly applied in clinical practice and can attract more research studies in future.”
As well as conducting its own research, the Trust carries out studies with the University of Oxford through the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and NIHR Oxford Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit.