An event co-led by UCLH and Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust last week highlighted the crucial role of Clinical Research Practitioners (CRPs) in the NHS and how NHS employers can develop their CRP workforce.
CRPs can play an important role in the set up and delivery of research, working across ethics and approvals, patient recruitment and consent, data collection, regulation, publications, and more.
The role is relatively new in the NHS, having developed over the last decade. CRPs represent a valued profession which supports the advancement of healthcare and improving patient outcomes. UCLH has developed teams of CRPs working across different areas of research including clinical trials.
The CRPs employers event was supported by the NIHR North London RDN and NIHR South London RDN and took place at a venue close to the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust London site.
Research managers, research nurses and CRPs from a large number of Trusts attended the event, which highlighted to employers the important role CRPs play in research, the importance of CRP training pathways, and how to build a strong CRP workforce. The event also explored the importance of CRP accreditation in securing employer buy-in and the development and creation of CRP competency frameworks/toolkits to ensure standardised, high-quality research and how it could serve as guide in the professionalisation of the CRP workforce.
Although the event had a London focus, it was also designed to bring in perspectives from across the UK, so there was a nationwide feel to the attendance.
UCLH involvement in the event was led by Research Manager and CRP in the UCLH Cancer Division Sarah Taylor, CRP in the JRO’s agile team Subarna Roy, Research Delivery Nurse Manager Jingle Sanchez, and Head of the Research Delivery Workforce at UCLH Marivic Ricamara.
Subarna was one of the CRPs selected to give a presentation on her experiences of being a CRP. UCLH Managing Director of Research Dr Nick McNally chaired a lively panel session, which included UCLH Chief Nurse Vanessa Sweeney as a panellist, before Vanessa went on to give the closing remarks.