Clinical trials changing lives: one researcher’s story/in /by

Professor Matt Sydes, Head of Data-Driven Clinical Trials at NHS England, describes how his personal and professional lives collided when a family member was affected by a rare cancer.

As a statistician and a trialist, I've been involved with researching many different diseases and conditions over the years. I’ve planned and run studies, analysed data, and interpreted and disseminated findings from clinical trials to support the development of new treatments and interventions, all to help doctors and patients make the best healthcare decisions that improve and extend lives.

Making sure the NHS App works for everyone/in /by

Simon Davis explains how the NHS App team puts users at the heart of digital delivery design by considering accessibility needs at every stage of the user research process.

As the lead user researcher for the NHS App, my role is to ensure users remain at the centre of everything we do. I work with a talented team of researchers across different departments, engaging with both the public and frontline NHS staff to understand their experiences with our services.

Behind the scenes publishing the new NHS website homepage/in /by

Alice Eastwood and Molly Lee explain how

As healthcare becomes increasingly digital, the role of the NHS website (www.nhs.uk) has never been more crucial. With 50 million visits each month, it’s the UK’s most trusted health platform.

Tracing NHS data back to the source/in /by

Professor Matt Sydes explains how we’re semi-automating the data provenance process to ease the admin burden on researchers and speed up clinical trials.

A hard truth is that we need to improve the delivery of clinical trials. They are often large and time consuming for good reason. We need reliable findings and must protect against false positives and false negatives.

If patients are already expected to do well or the treatment is only expected to make a modest improvement or we need to have greater certainty of the results, the trial will need to be larger and longer. And more time inevitably means more money.

How we scaled up user research in the NHS App at speed/in /by

Tanja Galloway talks about the work of the NHS App user research team – and the challenges of supporting a fast-moving, inclusive national service. 

The NHS App recently achieved a significant milestone: most adults in England (34 million people) have now registered to use it.

From days to minutes: How NHS England Secure Data Environment is accelerating healthcare research/in /by

Adam Hollings and Humaira Hussein talk about how NHS England Secure Data Environment service is powering life-saving research and treatments across the UK. 

NHS England Secure Data Environment service is part of the Secure Data Environment network which is powering life-saving research and treatments across the UK. 

Accessibility is a choice/in /by

Claire Dellar talks about her experience of using assistive technology and explains how other people’s choices not to prioritise accessibility affect her.

I spend a lot of time in conversations that start something like this:

“I’m really sorry I can’t fill in that report, it’s not accessible to me. Can you send it in another format?”

Putting people and partnership at the centre of clinical research/in /by

In March 2024, the Westminster Health Forum policy conference on "Next steps for clinical research in the UK" brought together stakeholders from across the research industry. Heather Pinches shares her insights from the event.

I was delighted to be invited to represent NHS DigiTrials at the Westminster Health Forum policy conference. The event was chaired by The Rt Hon Baroness Neville-Jones DCMG, setting the stage for discussions on priorities for diversity, trust, transparency and public involvement in clinical trials.

Putting people and partnership at the centre of clinical research/in /by

In March 2024, the Westminster Health Forum policy conference on "Next steps for clinical research in the UK" brought together stakeholders from across the research industry. Heather Pinches shares her insights from the event.

I was delighted to be invited to represent NHS DigiTrials at the Westminster Health Forum policy conference. The event was chaired by The Rt Hon Baroness Neville-Jones DCMG, setting the stage for discussions on priorities for diversity, trust, transparency and public involvement in clinical trials.

Title – Blog doc-type/in /by

Introduction

Back story

Lead paragraph