About our research
Whittington Health NHS Trust hosts multi-centre research studies across a broad range of clinical specialties. These studies have been developed by clinicians, universities, other hospitals or commercial companies and most are adopted to the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) portfolio meaning they are high quality and of national or international importance.
The clinical teams, both in the hospital and in the community may ask if you are interested in taking part in research. You may also be contacted by a member of the research delivery team or meet them at your clinical appointment to discuss research. You can also contact the research delivery team to enquire about research opportunities or gaining more information about a specific study that’s relevant to you. Please click here to be taken to our ‘Contact Us’ page.
Research participation is voluntary; you are not required to take part and declining to take part will not impact your care. Some research has regulatory approval to occur without consent of the patients; this can be due to the information being anonymised or urgent public health events such as the COVID 19 Pandemic. More information about these types of studies can be found in the ‘Get Involved in Research – Data Protection’ section.
Clinical specialties currently taking part in research include:
• Cardiology
• Community Care
• Critical Care/ ICU
• Dermatology
• Emergency Medicine
• Gastroenterology
• Genetics
• Haematology
• Hepatology
• Infectious Diseases (e.g. TB)
• Mental Health
• Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Oncology
• Paediatrics
• Reproductive Health and Childbirth
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Surgery
The research department is exploring more areas of research that the Trust can support and aim to keep expanding the number of specialities involved.
If hospitals in the surrounding area or specialist centres are supporting different research studies, clinicians may ask if you are interested in attending another hospital to take part in a study. This is offered to ensure patients accessing Whittington Health Services are able to access research that may benefit them, especially at surrounding trusts such as University College London Hospital (UCLH) and Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.
Whittington Health NHS Trust works closely with the North London RDN (research delivery network) and supports the delivery of NIHR supported studies. The NIHR RDN is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and supports NHS trusts, local governments, universities and other organisations in delivering and funding groundbreaking research in England. Follow the link to learn more about the NIHR.