Every year, thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds volunteer for studies taking place at our hospitals. We are proud to be a research-active trust, developing world-class specialists in all medical fields to provide the latest medicines, treatments and care pathways for our patients.
Not only that, our research involves people like you in its development to make it more relevant to your needs and priorities.
Wherever you live in the UK, the NHS Constitution states that you should be able to learn of any research taking place that is relevant to you. Evidence shows that taking part in research can benefit patients and carers by offering the opportunity to try new treatments and learn more about the condition affecting you or someone you care for.
We set out how we will involve you in research in our programme called “Research Shared”. You can download the summary PDF of Research Shared. If you work in research and would like to learn more about our strategy, you can read a more detailed version here.
Get involved in research
People are motivated to be part of research for many reasons. These include getting the opportunity to try new treatments that are not currently licensed, or not available for general use on the NHS, finding out more about their condition to help them manage it, and increased health checks and contact with healthcare professionals to give them peace of mind.
While taking part in a research study might not directly benefit the participant, many people willingly take part to give hope to other people in the future. In the case of genetic conditions, the hope is that children, grandchildren and other descendants may be spared the worry of inheriting a disease that is not currently treatable.
There are many ways to get involved in research:
- Ask your health care professional about taking part in a research study or clinical trial
- Join Leicester’s Research Registry to be among the first to hear about opportunities to take part in research
- Visit the Be Part of Research website to search for research taking place, by location and/or condition
- Help beat dementia by registering your interest in dementia research.
- Become a patient research ambassador and help spread the word about the importance of taking part in research
- Look for an involvement opportunity on the People in Research website.
- Join our Public Research Engagement Panel
- Support the development of a research project as a lay representative