New funding boost for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Clinical Research Facility

28 Feb 2022, 1 p.m.

Play area within the Clinical Research Facility

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has announced that the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Clinical Research Facility (CRF) is one of 28 centres from across the country to receive 5-years of funding to deliver early stage clinical research.

Our Clinical Research Facility at GOSH (CRF)

The NIHR GOSH CRF provides specialist day care accommodation for children and young people taking part in clinical research studies, as well overnight stays where required. This state of the art, purpose-built facility is available to all GOSH/ICH staff undertaking clinical research, in particular early phase and experimental medicine trials.

The NIHR Clinical Research Facility at GOSH is an integral part of our Research Hospital.

We deliver research that transforms the lives of so many children with rare and complex diseases and our Clinical Research Facility (CRF) is instrumental in embedding this across the wider hospital, for direct impact on patient care.

We look forward to growing our facility and working with other stakeholders across the life sciences industry to deliver an even stronger portfolio of innovative trials, with an even greater demonstrable impact for our patients and their families.

Mat Shaw, Chief Executive GOSH
A man in a blue and white checked shirt and navy blue jacket stand in front of Great Ormond Street Hospital Entrance

Mat Shaw, Chief Executive GOSH

Between 2020-21, staff at the NIHR GOSH CRF managed:

  • 702 on site patient visits
  • over 2000 remote visits.

During this time the CRF supported 34 Phase I and II clinical studies, facilitating the life-changing research taking place across our GOSH Research Hospital.

Continuing our incredible research at GOSH

This new 5-year funding for our NIHR GOSH CRF will enable us to develop and strengthen our early translational and experimental medicine research.

We are delighted that NIHR have demonstrated their continued support of our ambitions. The quality and breadth of the early translational and experimental medicine research, both here and in collaboration with our strategic partners has been recognised as exceptional, and we are very proud of this team effort.

Prof Stephen Marks, Director of NIHR GOSH Clinical Research Facility
A portrait midshot of Stephen Marks, wearing a blue striped shirt.

Prof Stephen Marks, Director of NIHR GOSH Clinical Research Facility

NIHR CRFs also have a remit to support skills and workforce development, to grow expertise in delivering early translational and experimental medicine studies. This remit covers both people who lead and design trials and people in the essential supporting roles that deliver the research on the ground.

This funding will allow us to continue to build both the infrastructure and incredible team that are a vital part of our Research Hospital.

Since our Clinical Research Facility was established 12 years ago, we have continued to grow and expand our research portfolio.

Our research delivery workforce has developed substantially during this time and we have created opportunities for our staff, such that this is a fantastic place to work. Our wonderful teams, both based in the CRF and across the hospital share our vision for research at GOSH, which they run smoothly and efficiently. We are incredibly proud of our team and look forward to the next five years of research.

Lorraine Hodsdon, Co-Director of the CRF and Head of Nursing and Patient Experience for Research and Innovation

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