Mystery shopper campaign highlights NHS shortcomings in promoting clinical research
Many NHS patients are hitting an information "brick wall" when it comes to finding out about clinical research, according to the results of an NIHR investigation published in January 2013.
The NIHR Clinical Research Network mystery shopper initiative set out to test how well Trusts were delivering on the NHS Constitutional pledge with regard to clinical research. This investigation involved visits to 82 hospital sites across 40 NHS Trusts in England. For each of these, mystery shoppers examined the basic points-of-contact for patients to assess whether patients have easy access to information about local clinical research opportunities and how to get involved. The findings shows that 91% of Trusts surveyed are not providing information to support patient choice.
Following on from the mystery shopper findings, the NIHR Clinical Research Network plans to launch a resource pack for Trusts, offering materials to help them to promote research opportunities to patients.
Website: NIHR mystery shopper campaign highlights NHS shortcomings in promoting clinical research
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