Clinical Research Network contributes to AMS Review

The NIHR Clinical Research Network has called for more to be done to ensure that NHS Trusts apply clinical research regulatory guidelines consistently.

In its evidence submission to the Academy of Medical Sciences' review into the regulation and goverance of clinical research, the Clinical Research Network claimed that some areas of research governance are still too open to interpretation by NHS Trusts, which creates confusion for researchers applying to run clinical trials, and delays in the time it takes for studies to gain permission to start.

The Clinical Research Network's Chief Operating Officer, John Sitzia, said: "There is a tension between the need for a single, consistent regulation and governance system for clinical trials across the whole of the NHS, and the fact that Trusts are autonomous organisations, with a decision-making responsibility for what happens to their own patients. Whilst much has already been done to ensure that NHS Trusts apply regulatory frameworks in the same way, our experience shows that there is still a way to go. Researchers are still finding that some Trusts require more information than others before granting permission to run the same clinical trial."