FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Staff resources: 

The South Central Regional Research Delivery Network (SCRRDN) employs a team who are dedicated to supporting GP practices to deliver research:

Research Facilitators (RFs) / Assistant Portfolio Manager (APMs): The RF / APM team will help you set up research at your surgery and guide you in achieving an appropriate portfolio of studies at your surgery. They’ll be your main point of contact and will be with you every step of the way.

RRDN Research Nurse Team: For specific studies, our nursing team are available to support recruitment and study delivery. They may also offer shadowing and tutoring opportunities for practice nurses with an interest in research. 

GP Research Experts: A team of GPs who have a special interest in trial design and delivery, they also have extensive hands on experience of offering studies at their surgeries and may offer peer to peer advice on setting up research.

Click here to Meet the Team

Research Opportunities:

All of the studies adopted on to the NIHR national portfolio have been carefully scrutinized to ensure they meet all of the appropriate regulatory standards set by the Health Research Authority (HRA) and Research Ethics Committee (REC).  

Click on our Available Studies Page to see the portfolio of research opportunities available to your patients and your organisation (practice staff).

Funding:  Research activity undertaken at GP practices is funded. Reimbursement is study specific and is always displayed on the Research Information Sheet for Practices (RISP). In addition to the standard study reimbursement, we (the RRDN) offer a competitive funding scheme based on research activity – Research Site Initiative (RSI). RSI funding is offered to help you to build an infrastructure for research at your surgery.  More information on our Funding page.

Contact your local Research Facilitator / Assistant Portfolio Manager who will help you set up research at your practice. They will go through all the main steps involved in getting your practice up and running for research.

You decide on what studies are suitable for your practice based on:

• your infrastructure (example, room availability)

• available resource (staff and time),

• your practice population.

The idea is that your practice will slowly build up a portfolio for research over time, in parallel   with creating a culture for research at your surgery. 

You choose to offer your patient population the studies that are most appropriate for your practice. 

In terms of topic, studies may be about finding information on any condition seen in primary care, or secondary care, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or sore throats. Studies may be designed to look at new treatments, service improvement, the development of diagnostic tools etc.

Research activity can range from:

• completing a survey

• taking part in focus groups or face to face/telephone interviews

• search and mailout Studies (Patient Identification Centre (PIC) studies); usually undertaken by a member of the administration staff and GP

• Site based studies involving receiving informed consent from patients, delivering intervention in practice, writing Case Report Forms (CRFs), using new diagnostic tools and service systems; usually undertaken by appropriate practice staff (for certain studies RRDN nursing support may be available)

For more information, click on Levels of Involvement Page

We recommend you read the Research Information Sheet for Practices (RISP) for each available study which details its requirements in terms of:

• number/type of staff required

• level of practice and patient involvement

• reimbursement.

All the funding received by the National Institute for Health and Care Research is direct from the Department of Health (DoH). 

Each study is carefully costed through the funding body.

There are two main types of funding for research available to practices. 

Study specific research funding (different for each study) divided into 3 categories (pots of money):

• • Service Support Costs (SSCs): costs covered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) for the time it takes to do certain tasks associated with that specific study, for example, completing a database search. 

  • Research Costs: paid via the study teams based at Universities or Hospitals and include any equipment used for the purpose of research. This funding is from the study team’s grant.

  • Excess Treatment Costs (ETCs): where applicable, reimbursement is paid via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), these are the costs of the study if it were to be implemented in the future (if proved successful). Not many studies in primary care have these costs. 

A reimbursement table for each study including invoicing details is always included in the Research Information sheet for Practices (RISP). 

Research Site Initiative (RSI)

A scheme run annually by the National Institute for Health and Care Research offers funding to help build an infrastructure for research at your surgery. You need to apply for this funding just before April of each new NHS financial year. Funding is based on the research activity for each practice achieved over the year. Contact your local Research Facilitator / Assistant Portfolio Manager for more details.

For more information, visit our Funding Page

No, GPs don’t always need to get involved in primary care studies. 

Some studies are directed to practice managers, such as survey studies, and do not require any GP input. 

Patient Identification Centre (PIC) studies require a GP to eyeball the list of eligible patients for a study to ensure it is fine to invite those patients to that study. (We have been told that this is often performed over coffee break).

Our Case Study Page showcases how effective delegation of activities can help you maximise efficiencies in practice

This will depend on the studies you choose to take forward at your surgery. 

We recommend doing at least two low resource studies to start with within the first financial year:

• a Patient Identification Study might take 10 minutes to complete. The database search and mail out could be automated using DOCMAIL (with the study team’s log in details and not the practice’s). 

• Some surveys take 10 minutes to complete.

Other more complex studies may require more time. You will get more of a feel for the time involved from the practice participation section on the Research information sheet for Practices (RISP), as this will outline the activities required to deliver the study. 

Head to our Available Studies Page to view some of our current RISPs

Practices have reported making changes in the local management of certain conditions such as obesity as a result of being involved in research. 

The CQC will often ask if the practice is involved in research. 

Some studies may help in achieving QoF; you can find some examples on our Case Study Page

By offering research opportunities to patients, the practice is seen to offer a wider range of choice to its patients in line with the NHS constitution. 

Taking part in research will also help health care professionals & administration staff to keep abreast of new developments in primary care, useful for appraisals, annual accreditation and Personal Development Plans (PDPs).  

For more information visit our Benefits of Research Page

Many studies offered in primary care by the NIHR are now incorporated into NICE guidelines. One example is delayed antibiotic prescribing guidelines, but there are many others. For more examples showing how research has had a positive impact on patient care, scroll to the NIHR Evidence on our Benefits of Research Page 

Most studies are published at an International level in peer reviewed medical and scientific magazines to help inform about the level of success of a new therapy, improved services, or of a new drug. Visit our Publications page for further information.

All studies have a results dissemination plan and the trial management team are responsible for ensuring patients are notified about the outcome of the study. 

No special indemnity cover is required. The studies themselves provide indemnity, plus the NHS Indemnity Scheme will also provide cover.

Yes, all our studies will have received the national approvals required by the Health Regulatory Authority including NHS ethics.

Yes, the RRDN offers the following courses:

• • Good Clinical Practice (GCP) a nationally recognised course which may be a requirement for offering complex studies to patients. 

  • Informed Consent

  • Informed Consent for Adults Lacking Capacity

  • Let's Talk Trials - Enhancing Communication with your Patients

  • Next Steps in Delivering Clinical Research (Formerly Fundamentals of Clinical Research)

  • Dry Ice

  • Laboratory Skills for Researchers

  • Monthly Webinars - These sessions are recorded and are available to view online

  • Commercial Workshop

Any study specific training will also be provided by the study team prior to starting that study in practice

Head to our Training Page for more information and to access our NIHR learning platform

No. You do not need any previous experience of research. 

Academic Studies (non-commercial)

Often led by GP academics and other researchers based at UK academic institutions, studies are often looking to improve every day clinical or managerial practice at surgeries. Some studies are led by consultants based at NHS Hospitals.

Unless you advise otherwise, we will only provide information relating to academic studies.

Commercial Studies 

Some studies are from the Life Sciences industry, and are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies such as Abbott, AstraZeneca, Pfizer etc. Commercial sponsors sometimes use a Contract Research Organisation (CRO) such as Parexel or IQVIA, to support the delivery of their trial.