Our practice is proud to be a Research Ready Accredited Practice. We work collaboratively with the NIHR Clinical Research Network which is the Research arm of the NHS.
Clinical Research is very important to improve care, treatments and ultimately patients’ quality of life.
Blackfriars Medical Practice support several different types of Primary Care studies which have been ethically approved. Our GP Research Lead is Dr Lily Topham.
If you are a patient you may receive invitation letters to ask if you wish to take part in a research study. Joining in a research study is completely voluntary.
However, if you do not wish to be contacted about research studies please let the practice staff know.
To find out more about NHS research please follow the links below.
www.nihr.ac.uk/nihr-in-your-area/south-london/about-us.htm
This practice also contributes anonymised data to the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). This means that you cannot be identified from the information sent to CPRD. If you do not want anonymised data from your patient record to be used in research, you can opt out - just let us know. For more information on CPRD visit:
CPRD Notice
www.cprd.com/public
The Summit Study
The surgery is participating in an exciting new piece of clinical research called the Summit Study.
The SUMMIT Study is a large-scale study involving 25,000 people aged 55 to 77 living in London and surrounding areas. The participants will be people who currently smoke or have smoked regularly in the past.
The study has two main aims: the first is to detect lung cancer early using the proven method of low-dose CT (LDCT) screening of at-risk individuals. The second aim is to support the development of a new blood test for the early detection of lung and other cancers.
For more information on the study, including how to opt out of receiving an invitation, please see below.
Research Study Participation
Patients in this practice will be invited to join a research study run by University College London (UCL) and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH).
Who will be invited?
- People from this practice aged 50 to 77
What is involved?
- A letter will be sent to you by your GP, with a phone number to call.
- Depending on your responses to some questions over the phone, you may be invited to attend a Lung Health Check (where your lung health will be assessed) or you may be invited to attend a study appointment in your local area.
- You may be offered a scan of your lungs (called a CT scan) and be asked to give a blood sample as part of the study, or you may be asked to give a blood sample and fill out a questionnaire.
- The study is entirely voluntary and you do not have to participate if you do not wish to do so.
Staff at UCL and UCLH are organising the appointments for the research study.
- For this to happen, this GP practice will securely share the names and addresses of potentially eligible individuals with the study team.
- The study team will invite people and coordinate study appointments. They will keep the details of everyone they invite for a period of up to 10 years, in order to collect important health-related information and help develop health services for the future.
- Strict security measures will ensure your information is kept safe and confidential.
Opt out: Please let reception staff know if you do not want the study team to have your information. Opting out will not affect any of your future care. You will continue to be invited for other NHS appointments and activities.
Further details are available at: www.summitstudy.co.uk