Londoners are being urged to sign up to a new UK-wide health and care research registry, as part of the nation’s biggest-ever recruitment drive for clinical trials.
The call comes as new figures showed more than 264,000 (264,945) participants took part in 2,395 studies trials supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) across the city in the last year.
Health and care leaders are urging participants to register with the NIHR’s Be Part of Research registry. The free online service matches participants to suitable studies based on their interests, location and demographic data, such as age, sex and ethnic group.
More than 66,000 Londoners have already joined the service. They join more than 500,000 participants registered across the UK.
But significantly more people are being asked to sign up to this life-changing service. The campaign, which launches today (16 June), aims to register another 1.5 million people.
Participants choose conditions for trials they want to take part in, for example, heart disease and diabetes. They are then contacted about suitable trials by email - making it easier than ever to find and take part in vital health and care research.
Dr Kosh Agarwal, Health and Care co-Director for Medical for the NIHR South London Regional Research Delivery Network, said: “Research only makes discoveries that improve and save lives because of the thousands of participants who take part each year. I urge even more Londoners to volunteer through the Be Part of Research service to help shape the future of healthcare.”
Dr Kieran McCafferty, Health and Care Director for Medical at the NIHR North London Regional Research Delivery Network, said: “Be Part of Research allows participants to take part in research across a wide range of health conditions.
“It is only through research that we move healthcare forward. Signing up could help participants in London and beyond.”
Atina’s story
Atina who works in south London believes the Outside 2 study has helped to free her mind.
The Outside 2 study aims to find out if swimming outdoors can reduce symptoms and improve the lives of participants experiencing depression and low mood. Over the course of eight weeks, participants take part in weekly outdoor swimming sessions, learn mindfulness techniques, and are encouraged to reflect on their experiences through optional diary entries. According to the mental health charity Mind, 1 in 4 participants experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England.
She said: "I've had issues with mental health since I've been quite young, and those have fluctuated depending on where I am in my life.
"The impact of the Outside 2 study has been profound. My brain feels empty. My body feels light. It's almost as if someone has pressed the reset button on my brain. And just for that moment that I'm in the water, I feel free.
"I can't thank everyone involved in the study enough. The participants have been so kind, so caring, and it's amazing to be part of a group where you get this feeling of being safe."
Taking part in health and care research helps develop new treatments, improves the NHS, public health and social care, and saves lives. Everyone can take part in research, whether they have a health condition or not. Some studies seek participants without the condition being studied so researchers can compare them to those who have it.
The studies on Be Part of Research take place in a range of places, including hospitals, GP practices, or even from home, for example, by responding to an online questionnaire about a person’s health condition.
Be Part of Research has already been used to enrol more than 90,000 participants across the UK to over 100 studies, including the UK’s first norovirus vaccine trial.
Professor Lucy Chappell, CEO of the NIHR and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “Tomorrow’s treatments are today’s research. We are calling on the British public to sign up to Be Part of Research, our world-leading register, to find studies that they can take part in. Whether you are a healthy volunteer, or have a particular condition, you can be part of research that makes a difference.
"It is vital that health and care research represents society, reflecting the diversity within it to produce the best treatments. Research that includes people from all backgrounds and from across the country will produce findings that benefit and serve everybody. Being a part of research is a great way to get involved and give back in a way that can change lives, accelerate knowledge and benefit us all. Members of the public will be able to use the NHS App and be matched to vital trials through the Be Part of Research service.”
People can sign up to be contacted about studies that are right for them by creating a free Be Part of Research account at bepartofresearch.uk.
ENDS
For more information, contact Amy Gordon, Communications Officer at the NIHR: amy.gordon@nihr.ac.uk.
Notes to editors:
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All data represents clinical research studies supported by the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN). It counts the number of participants recruited into studies supported by NIHR RDN in the financial year 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
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Data is sourced from the NIHR RDN Portfolio of studies. The data does not include the number of participants recruited into studies across other parts of the NIHR, particularly NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and Clinical Research Facilities, which are collated annually.
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The Research Delivery Network replaced the Clinical Research Network on October 1 2024. It provides support to organisations that deliver research studies, including funding for NHS research staff and helping research teams grow.
The 2024/25 figures show:
- A total of 435 participants took part in 23 studies at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust
- A total of 2,020 participants took part in 60 studies at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
- A total of 24,730 participants took part in 554 studies at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 41 participants took part in 6 studies at Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust
- A total of 31,839 participants took part in 315 studies at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 531 participants took part in 39 studies at Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 1,092 participants took part in 62 studies at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust
- A total of 545 participants took part in 6 studies at London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- A total of 319 participants took part in 13 studies at Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 6,472 participants took part in 79 studies at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 587 participants took part in 30 studies at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust
- A total of 6,975 participants took part in 252 studies at St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 3,031 participants took part in 234 studies at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 73,212 participants took part in 380 studies at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
- A total of 31,718 participants took part in 451 studies at Barts Health NHS Trust
- A total of 14,441 participants took part in 259 studies at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 12,007 participants took part in 465 studies at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 5,071 participants took part in 52 studies at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 4,813 participants took part in 41 studies at Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 3,206 participants took part in 121 studies at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 2,644 participants took part in 118 studies at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
- A total of 1,654 participants took part in 137 studies at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 1,531 participants took part in 61 studies at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
- A total of 1,525 participants took part in 70 studies at Whittington Health NHS Trust
- A total of 1,486 participants took part in 36 studies at North East London NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 717 participants took part in 20 studies at The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 709 participants took part in 27 studies at East London NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 617 participants took part in 31 studies at North London NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 496 participants took part in 31 studies at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- A total of 294 participants took part in 19 studies at West London NHS Trust
- A total of 250 participants took part in 21 studies at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
- A total of 107 participants took part in 8 studies at Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust
- A total of 39 participants took part in 2 studies at Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
- Across London, a total of 14,573 participants took part in 122 studies in community settings such as GP practices and at home
About Be Part of Research
Be Part of Research is a UK-wide service that helps participants find and take part in health and care research across nearly every health condition. It is run by the NIHR in collaboration with the NHS and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The NIHR and the Be Part of Research service are funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Be Part of Research is the first UK-wide research volunteer registry into all health conditions. Following a successful pilot from 2022, the Be Part of Research registry is being launched to the public in June 2025.