It has been an interesting year to say the least
“It has been an interesting year to say the least in the JRMO. During the initial wave of the pandemic, we had to suspend the vast majority of our research studies. We did this to ensure we retained existing urgent studies (e.g. cancer treatments studies) and could set-up new, urgent Covid-19 studies.
“We established a Covid-19 review committee which met virtually 52 times and reviewed 456 Covid-19 proposals over the past 12 months – both research and non-research – in total. New, expedited review processes were set up, as well as prioritisation of set-up for urgent public health studies. This allowed us to set studies up safely but quickly.
“All Covid-19 studies were subject to monitoring by the JMRO Governance team to ensure compliance with research regulations and to minimise breaches. We also took the lead nationally on a combined consent process, to help patients take part in research projects without the burden of paper/information overload. We also scripted all patient documents for our Covid-19 studies.
“We have restarted non-urgent studies to align with the opening of clinical areas where patients can once more be seen, and continue to set-up new ones. It’s a very busy time for the JRMO as we are still seeing the aftermath of the pandemic with staff shortages, sickness and increased workloads. But given how much research has contributed to our knowledge about Covid-19 and how to prevent and treat it, it makes me hopeful for the future.”
Read more:
- Research and Development at Barts Health – the teams behind the scenes
- "I am so proud of the research community in Barts Health"
- "We knew engagement would be crucial to enrolling participants to our research studies"
- Take part in research
- Conducting research at Barts Health