More about our recruitment reach and facilities

Our region

PRC Newcastle is in a prime position to undertake research into common chronic conditions such as COPD, headaches, asthma, diabetes, heart failure, common skin conditions, and depression, due to the unique make-up of the region. We have the highest prevalence rates for COPD, type I diabetes and heart failure in the country. Life expectancy is two years lower than the national average and premature death is 20% higher. 

Regional partnerships

We strive to extend our research reach beyond traditional hospital settings to engage with the broader populations we serve. One way we do this is by collaborating with local Primary Care Networks to access community-based data. This enables a reach into general practice populations exceeding 80,000 people. We also have strong partnerships with other large research-friendly practices and the wider Integrated Care System (ICS) to provide us with ‘ready-to-go’ PIC capability through which we can reach an even greater population up to 1.2 million.

Integrated data systems 

Through Newcastle Hospitals partnership in the Great North Care Record, we can extend our reach for recruiting patients to new research and provide the use of existing data for analysis. Our PRC also hosts a patient and volunteer registry: Research+Me. More than twenty thousand people have signed up and have given their consent to be contacted about research opportunities.This has enabled participants to take part in research that is important to their individual health needs and wellbeing such as vaccine studies, our first virtual trial and forthcoming respiratory studies.

State-of-the-art facilities

PRC Newcastle is a purpose-built centre, specifically designed to deliver commercially sponsored research effectively and to time and target. It hosts a large comfortable patient reception and waiting area, outpatient clinic rooms, a three bedded day room / infusion room, interview rooms, procedure room, clean and dirty utility, mini lab/specimen room, freezer room, office space, storage space and an integrated pharmacy. 

Onsite equipment includes:  

  • a centrifuge
  • fridge and freezers 
  • ECG 
  • medical emergency trolley.

There is access to supporting departments including radiology and pathology. The centre is adjacent to the Newcastle University Imaging Hub which leads all research imaging including advanced PET and MRI technology.

Our team, dedicated to delivering industry-driven research, consists of: a study coordinator, a team of experienced research nurses and a study support assistant, as well as trial support and management input from our Clinical Director, Research Fellow, and two GP research clinicians.

Recruitment reach

Watch an interview with Professor Yan Yiannakou about our ContactME:IBS trial and how we used novel recruitment strategies to meet our recruitment targets.

 Social media channels such as LinkedInTwitter and Facebook are used to raise awareness of study-specific opportunities as well as supporting our research registries.

Get in touch

Get in touch to discuss your upcoming research projects and find out how we can help you.

  • Phone:  +44 (0) 191 282 1369
  • Email: nuth.PRCNewcastle@nhs.net

Related pages

External links