NHS cancer center taps into Innovative Trials to improve patient engagement

Under a partnership with Innovative Trials, a clinical trial patient recruitment company, the Christie NHS Foundation Trust has initiated an effort to improve its patient recruitment rates. The program is designed to help accelerate clinical development of cancer treatments. 

Located in Manchester, UK, the Christie NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS-supported clinical care setting for cancer patients.

The partnership is expected to help address a ‘major challenge’ for clinical research, according to Innovative Trials, which sees developers struggling to deploy enough eligible patients in their drug development projects.

Moreover, the partnership will target cancer patients coming from under-represented diverse backgrounds, including black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, aiming to help the cancer center reach more diverse patient populations.

According to Innovative Trials, the current lack of diversity among patient participants in clinical trials can make it difficult for researchers to assess how effective medical treatments are for different groups of people, since not all patients respond to medical treatments in the same way.

The company will utilize its network of Community Outreach Specialists to raise awareness regarding the cancer center’s projects, among patient populations living in selected areas around Manchester, UK. These include Oldham, Wigan, Wythenshawe, Preston, Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent.

Additionally, Innovative Trials’ experts will work with The Christie’s clinical research delivery teams to ensure patient engagement for the duration of their trial.

Penny Morrison, patient recruitment strategy director for Innovative Trials, told us that the experts will work directly with community physicians to ensure they are aware about the latest opportunities and have the information they need to pass to their patients.

“We know that these relationships are vital in encouraging more people to take part in clinical trials,” ​Morrison said, adding that the company also plans for engagement tasks with appropriate local community and patient advocacy groups.

When asked more about the engagement projects, Morrison told us that the outreach methods are adaptable depending on the target, and the needs of the research projects.