Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust has a well established Research and Development (R&D) department with a reputation for high quality clinical and basic research.
Since 2007, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust has been part of the South London Comprehensive Local Research Network (CLRN). Both the R&D director and R&D manager have been appointed members of the CLRN board and executive.
Within the CLRN, the Trust has provided R&D management and governance for Kingston and Mayday hospitals. In 2007, the Trust underwent an MHRA Good Clinical Practice Inspection and was found to be compliant.
The Trust hosts the South West Institute for Renal Research and the EOC. The Orthopaedic Research Unit - which has special expertise in benchmarking hip prostheses - was opened by local MP Siobhan McDonagh in March 2008.
Our research portfolio encompasses basic and applied clinical research aiming to unravel the pathogenic mechanisms of disease and improve the outcome of treatment. There is a broad range of expertise in the topic-specific areas identified by the National Institute of Health Research as priorities for research.
In addition, the Trust has wide-ranging research expertise in a number of other areas including renal disease, immunology, rheumatology and obstetric conditions. Over the past year the Trust has been the lead centre for seven studies which form part of the UK Comprehensive Research Network (UKCRN) portfolio and acts as the recruitment centre for 63 studies for the UKCRN portfolio.
There is an active Good Clinical Practice (GCP) research training programme in place, and it is a requirement that all active clinical researchers should have undergone GCP training prior to getting R&D approval.
Our research activity, as well as funding, comes from the Department of Health, charities, public sector bodies and the pharmaceutical industry.
