Falling research in the NHS

The recently published Department of Health leaflet entitled A Junior Doctor’s Guide to the NHS includes a statement that the director general of research and development is responsible for establishing the NHS as an international centre for research excellence.1 Although medical research in the United Kingdom is clearly excellent and world leading, the NHS has underperformed as a leader in clinical research. In 2003 a government sponsored report described how the NHS would be transformed to produce high quality global clinical trials, giving the UK a competitive edge in clinical research.2 Unfortunately, the UK’s participation in global clinical trials dropped from 6% in 2002 to 2% by 2009.3 Other initiatives to support clinical research have also failed to stimulate research by NHS clinicians, including the establishment of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration in 2004, and the inauguration of the NHS research and development strategy under the auspices of the National Institute for Health Research in 2006.4

Despite concern that the introduction of the European Clinical Trials Directive might negatively influence …