A LANCASHIRE trust has come top of a national NHS league table.

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust topped the ‘volume of research’ category of the Research Activity League Table for 2016/17 published by the NHS National Institute of Health Research (NIHR).

The table shows the extent of research activity across all NHS Care trusts in England, providing a picture of how much clinical research is happening, where, in what types of trusts, and involving how many participants.

Andrew Pennington, associate director of Lancashire Care’s research and development department, said the team is involved with a broad spectrum of studies.

He said: "The Trust is also involved in some cutting edge trials; there are several Alzheimer’s commercial trials, with our patients having the opportunity to receive treatments that are not routinely available within the NHS. And, following the results of a recent study, changes in practice to support people with learning disabilities who have experienced severe depression are under way."

More than 10,000 participants have benefitted from taking part in research conducted through Lancashire Care over the past six years.

The work of the Lancashire Care Research & Development Department was also recognised at the 2017 North West Coast Research & Innovation Awards where it was shortlisted in three categories.