Research Support

Glasgow Clinical Research Facility (GCRF) is a state of the art, purpose-built facility, complete with technical equipment to support high-quality research. The GCRF comprises of an adult and paediatric facility at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and an adult facility the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Each facility provides high-quality clinical spaces and outreach services where patients and healthy volunteers can take part in international clinical research studies.

All research is conducted in a GCP environment in accordance with GCRFs comprehensive standard operating procedures.

Clinical teams

Aligned to healthcare specialties, we employ a multi-professional clinical team to support a portfolio of research studies both commercial and non-commercial. The GCRF works hand-in-hand with NRS Networks and Specialty groups to deliver research across the spectrum of diseases. The main clinical themes, are not exclusive, and include:

Anaesthetics and surgery	Mental Health	Renal
Cardiovascular	Neurology	Reproductive health
Diabetes	Ophthalmology	Respiratory
Dental	Paediatrics	Rheumatology
Gastrointestinal	Primary care

Dominic Rimmer explains more about the role of the Clinical Research Nurse:

 

 

Clinical Facilities

Our facilities at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) both house outpatient clinic rooms and in-patient ward areas for patients requiring a longer stay in the unit. The facility at the QEUH is a joint adult and children’s facility: both have advanced procedure rooms, consulting rooms and in-patient ward area. Patients will experience en-suite facilities, with TV’s and patient Wi-Fi.

To support a diverse portfolio of research studies the Glasgow Clinical Research Facility (GCRF) has a range of specialist equipment, calibrated and maintained for research purposes:

SphygmoCor	EndoPAT
Ultrasound	Cardio-pulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET)
Ergometer	Plethsmography Equipment
Treadmill	University of Strathclyde Human Performance Laboratory

Within each facility there is a laboratory equipped for sample processing and freezer storage.

Quality Assurance

We have a suite of Standard Operating Procedures, Risk Assessments, a programme of training and staff competency assessments to ensure our research teams are compliant with research governance regulations and NHS policies and standards. 

Eilidh Wright, Quality Assurance Lead at Glasgow Clinical Research Facility explains more:

 

 

Project Management

In conjunction with our partners at the Robertson Centre for Biostatistics we are also able to offer help with protocol design, project management, statistical and data management support. The GCRF has a team of Project Managers to support a research study from inception to completion across a diverse portfolio of national and international Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMPs) and non-CTIMP research studies.

The team has extensive experience and can provide support at the various stages of clinical research including:

Pre-approvals:	Site feasibility assessment Key stakeholder engagement Key deliverables  Recruitment planning/ strategy Investigator files and site identification Regulatory submission.
Study start-up:	Site set-up, initiation / optimisation Study status key milestone reporting Recruitment & retention planning Study amendment management Issue resolution to key deliverables.
Study close-out:	Management of study close-out procedures Assistance with publishing and dissemination of findings.

For further information contact the project management team at PMU.Research@ggc.scot.nhs.uk.

To make an application to use Glasgow Clinical Research Facility please contact Glasgow.CRF@ggc.scot.nhs.uk or phone 0141 232 7600.