Research

The Children’s and Neonatal Research Team have a strong presence on the neonatal unit. They help the clinical team to put research projects at the heart of clinical care – if parents wish for their babies to participate in them.

Clinical and research staff approach the parents of many of the babies on the neonatal unit to see if they would like their baby to join research projects.  They vary from simply collecting information to opportunities to have new treatments in addition to standard care.

Where new treatments are offered as part of research, this is usually as part of a randomised controlled trial, where a treatment is compared to standard care.

The details of each opportunity to participate are explained to families in detail, with lots of opportunities to ask questions. A leaflet will accompany each study. Only parents can decide whether their infant participates in research projects.

The clinical and research teams are enthusiastic about offering families the opportunity to participate in studies. The Neonatal Unit has a long record of taking part in research, and much of the routine care we now deliver has been aided by research projects we have run, with the help of families, in the past.