Research delivery in the NHS: A league of its own

The NIHR Research Activity League Table is published by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN). It shows the extent of research activity across all NHS Trusts in England, providing a picture of how much clinical research is happening, where, in what types of Trusts, and involving how many participants.

Love them or loathe them, league tables exist in most environments and are particularly prevalent where institutions are funded from the public purse. Schools and universities are some of the most talked about lists and the NHS is just as popular in terms of being scrutinised by the public and media alike. As many of you will be aware, the NHS is judged in a range of ways from looking at quality of service, patient experience, A&E performance, waiting lists, transparency – the list is endless. For the last seven years the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the research arm of the NHS, has also published its own NIHR Research Activity League Table – www.nihr.ac.uk/ research-and-impact/nhs-research-performance/ league-tables/league-table-2016-17.htm 

The table illustrates research activity taking place across all NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) regions1 in England. Explaining why the NIHR releases the table each year, Professor Nick Lemoine, medical director at the NIHR Clinical Research Network says: “The NIHR Research Activity League Table provides an annual picture of how much clinical research is happening, where, in what types of Trusts, and involving how many patients.