Clinical Research Assistant / Practitioner

at  Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Are you an experienced Research Assistant or Research Practitioner looking to progress?
Do you have experience with in mental health services or with vulnerable adults in a research setting?
The Research Delivery Team at Central and North West London NHS Trust is looking for an experienced researcher to join their team to support recruitment to and coordination of complex interventional research in the Trust. Due to the complex nature of the trials the post-holder will be leading on, this post would suit somebody with 1+ years’ experience at B6 in research delivery in mental health.
This post is hosted by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and supported by the North West London Clinical Research Network (CRN) which forms part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) which was established by the Department of Health and aims to improve the speed, quality, and integration of research, ultimately resulting in improved patient care.
The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
The role will be based in the Research Delivery Service at Noclor Joint Research Office, hosted by Central and North West London NHS Trust. This role also involves working across multiple organisations within North West London to ensure people with mental health, dementia, learning disabilities, neurodegenerative and neurology problems have access to research opportunities.
Supported by the North West London Clinical Research Network (CRN): this is a chance to gain experience and knowledge of clinical research in the area of mental health.
You will work with research teams to recruit patients to a range of National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) portfolio studies. You will also promote research engagement actively assisting research teams with patient recruitment and data collection. You will be expected to have a good working knowledge of ICH GCP and be able to competently coordinate complex research trials, and to be involved in supervising junior researchers in the team.
You should be able to demonstrate a strong understanding of the challenges of research delivery in the NHS, particularly within mental health. The ideal candidate should have effective communication skills, good organisational skills, flexibility, excellent attention to detail, and the ability to work autonomously. A willingness to travel to sites across London is essential as the roles are based within services, as well as an ability or willingness to learn phlebotomy is essential.
The Research Delivery Service is a diverse, social and outgoing team. As part of your role, you’ll have the opportunity to try out new ideas in response to challenges that arise, with the support of your manager and wider team. We believe in succeeding together, not in spite of one another.
The role will also bring opportunities to develop your clinical and leadership skills. For example, previous research assistants have now gone onto senior roles within the NHS, completing PhDs and DClinPsy training. We also work with other Research Delivery Services in London under Noclor which provides opportunities for shared learning and creative thinking. In addition, we are an outgoing and social team who encourage, motivate and support one another.
The Research Delivery Service works with a diverse population in North West London and is important to us that we reflect this. Our diverse team and leadership team are examples of how we embrace, celebrate and learn from each other’s cultures which helps to shape our clinical practices when interacting with our clients. Furthermore, it is key that team members uphold our values and work together for our clients with respect, dignity and compassion.
Our staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.
We’re rated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Duties will be allocated to the post-holder according to qualifications and experience. They are likely to involve some or all of the following:
Patient recruitment and retention in studies
To attend multidisciplinary team meetings regularly to aid identification of appropriate Trusts/wards etc within the CRN for recruitment of participants to CRN North West London Division 4 studies
To identify participants to NIHR adopted studies according to specific protocols and guidelines, and assist clinicians to obtain informed consent from those participants
To provide verbal and written information and support to research participants and their carers for the duration of their involvement in the research project and to assist participants with the completion of questionnaires as necessary
To co-ordinate treatment, assessment and follow-up as necessary in accordance with research protocol, taking the lead on complex interventional research studies.
To provide support and supervision to junior research staff.
To identify areas of low patient recruitment and liaise with the Research Delivery Manager and to identify mechanism for improving
To work at all times according to Good Clinical Practice, Research Governance and Trust guidelines
To provide support to research teams to obtain approvals from Trust Research Governance and Local Ethics Committees
To ensure that any data collection is conducted according to specific research protocols and adheres to the Data Protection Act 1998 and according to ICH Good Clinical Practice guidelines
To facilitate the recording of patient recruitment on CRN Data Entry System
To provide information / reports on recruitment when requested by the Research Delivery Manager to provide support to research teams for assessments and follow-up of study participants.
To provide support to research teams for assessments and follow-up of study
With appropriate training, take clinical samples for studies; coordinate tissue sample collection and dispatch to relevant departments or research centres
Service mapping
To work with R&D staff, Trust and university employees to co-ordinate existing information into a comprehensive overview of services and service user support services across the North West London region
To develop, catalogue and maintain appropriate filing systems and other office management systems to record that information

Please refer the Job description for details