NIHR King's Clinical Research Facility

The King s CRF is a large, purpose-built facility within easy reach of the Maudsley Hospital (SLaM) and located within King's College Hospital (KCH). The site was chosen to facilitate access for the study of participants from both SLaM and KCH.

Noteworthy compared to academic CRFs globally, the King s facility was constructed with particular attention to mental health and neuroscience research and thus the needs of patients with psychiatric and neurological disorders. This has given us an advantage in delivering experimental medicine research across both mental and physical health.

With the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in mind during construction, we have excellent facilities that allow access and utilisation by disabled individuals, and with SLaM Clinical Services and Estates, input to ensure a minimal risk environment for patients with mental illness.

Collectively mental disorders account for 32.4% of years lived with disability, 11% of NHS spend, but only 5.5% of global health research investment. The need for investment in mental health research is a recognised goal of the Life Sciences Strategy.

Delivering high quality experimental medicine for mental health and neurological disorders requires specialist facilities.

Our primary objective is to provide facility in which participants feel valued and safe and to which investigators wish to come for its facilities and careful organisation with attention to detail.

Technologies, such as imaging, electrophysiology, and virtual reality expertise, along with high dependency beds for studies of blood disorders and liver disease, as well as a thoroughly trained and dedicated delivery staff are core features of our CRF.

Academically, our partner BRC is first in the in world of mental health, and top 10 for neuroscience in terms of highly cited publications.

We are staffed by the right health professionals, particularly mental health and highly experienced research nurses, allowing us to be able to run safely experimental medicine studies in participants, such as those with acute mental disorders, brain diseases, blood disorders and liver diseases.

Moreover, we have access to appropriate populations: SLaM is the largest mental health provider in Europe, and KCH is the largest UK regional neuroscience centre, and large, nationally recognised blood and liver disease units.

Studies conducted in our CRF continue to have broad impact that improves the health of the nation, such as our global leadership in developing a new class of medicines for migraine.

We benefit from a highly diverse local population - 60% of whom identify as ethnicities other than white British, with some of the largest populations of Black African and Black Caribbean people in the UK.

We have processes to ensure EDI principles are operationalized, such as a benefiting from the new Race and Ethnicity Advisory Group of the SLaM BRC.

We are working with KCH on a BAME initiative mindful that it had the highest percentage recruitment in the UK in the urgent public heath badged COVID-CNS study in this group. We aim to make a difference by delivering the studies today that are already changing care tomorrow in the NHS.