Surgical Trials Initiative
The Rosetrees and RCS England Surgical Trials Initiative
The Surgical Trials Initiative was launched in 2013 and is formed of Surgical Specialty Leads, Surgical Trials Centres and Professorial Chairs in Surgical Trials.
The Surgical Trials Centres enable surgeons to deliver clinical studies to assess new surgical techniques and develop breakthroughs in treatment that will help to deliver improved care to thousands of patients. The RCS England Surgical Trials Centres are located in Aberdeen, Leicester, Leeds, York, Bristol, Oxford, London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.
The program is being overseen by the Clinical Research Initiative Steering Committee (CRISC), an independent body that is chaired by Prof Sir Robert Lechler.
At the time of the Initiative's launch in 2013, less than 2% of government funding for medical research went into surgical areas, despite the fact that a third of hospital admissions involve surgery. The surgical research charities were concerned that the development of clinical research in surgery had lagged behind that of non-surgical disciplines. The surgical trials units have sought to support new studies across all surgical specialties, ensuring that surgical innovations are introduced quickly and help to reduce regional variation in care.
In partnership with surgical specialty associations and affiliated charities, over twenty national surgical specialty leads have been appointed with the specific remit to develop new trials, establish clinical networks, and to work with their patients to develop and deliver innovative trials across the surgical disciplines. So far surgical specialty leads have been assigned in the specialties listed in the table above. We continue to work with societies representing the specialties not currently covered to develop these new posts.
The Initiative has been active in promoting surgical research, throughout the medical care community, achieved by the RCS England holding outreach events for healthcare professionals, funders and industry members.
For more information, please contact research@rcseng.ac.uk
We are grateful to our supporters, past and present:
- Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland
- Association of Breast Surgery
- Bowel Cancer UK
- Breast Cancer Now
- British Association of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgeons
- British Association of Paediatric Surgeons
- British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons
- British Association of Urological Surgeons
- British Gynaecological Cancer Society
- Bowel Research UK
- British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society
- British Orthopaedic Association
- British Society for the Surgery of the Hand
- Cancer Research UK
- The Circulation Foundation
- The Enid Linder Foundation
- ENT UK
- George Drexler Foundation
- Heartburn Cancer UK
- Henry Lumley Charitable Trust
- Mary Kinross Charitable Trust
- Masonic Charitable Foundation
- The National Institute for Health Research
- Neuroendocrine Cancer UK
- NIHR Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure (NOCRI)
- Orthopaedic Research UK
- Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund
- Pancreatic Cancer UK
- Rosetrees Trust
- Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Society of British Neurological Surgeons
- SPARKS - Children's Medical Research Charity
- Vascular Society
For more information, please contact research@rcseng.ac.uk