Research at Sandyford
We welcome research at Sandyford and aim to make the process as easy as possible.
If you would like to conduct research within Sandyford or with Sandyford clients or staff, please download and complete our research enquiry form and email our research mailbox along with any protocols/proposals for the project to be assessed.
The form and protocol will be assessed by Sandyford Research Governance Group.
If we believe the research is of interest we will nominate a member of the clinical team to act as your local collaborator (if you have not already identified one prior to submitting your enquiry). If we do not feel that the research is appropriate we will let you know without delay. All requests are responded to within 4 weeks.
Emailing Sandyford
Some people have reported that our email links direct them to Google website. Depending on how your emails are set up, you may find it easier to copy and paste the contact email addresses below and send an email to us manually, rather than clicking the link via this website.
What is Sandyford?
Sandyford is the comprehensive specialist service for sexual, reproductive and emotional health for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The service covers a population of 1.14 million and prior to COVID restrictions, there were approximately 94,000 face-to-face patient contacts per year.
The Sandyford research governance group aims to support the co-ordination of research at Sandyford in the context of the wider NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde agenda for sexual health and to enhance the role of Sandyford in leading on sexual health research.
The group meets quarterly to monitor existing projects and to plan opportunities to increase Sandyford's research capacity. The group reports to the Sandyford Governance Committee and is accountable to the Sandyford Management Team. Please see the terms of reference at the bottom of this page for full details about the group.
How Sandyford uses patient information for research
Sandyford is proud to be involved in varied research projects, involving new drugs or treatments used in sexual health and new ways of providing care. All of the research projects aim to improve treatment, care or services for future service users.
When patients attend Sandyford they are asked to complete a registration form.
The information provided is stored on the national sexual health computer system (NaSH) in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulations (2018). Access to this information is strictly controlled.
Clinical information can only be accessed by staff within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde working in sexual health. If a patient attends a sexual health service in another board they will be asked if they want to create a new identity or use the same record. Only staff directly involved in their care or investigating clinical incidents or complaints have access to this information.
Service information such as the number of users, their ages and reasons for attending is used to carry out research and audit projects in order to improve services and teach health professionals to protect or improve the service and for administration of the service. This information does not identify individuals. Under GDPR regulations, patients can opt out of inclusion within these projects.
Information taken at registration includes asking patients if they are happy to be contacted for research purposes. If agreeable, they may be contacted by Sandyford staff and asked if they would like to take part in a project. Taking part rarely benefits the patient at that time but may help service users in the future. All research projects involving patients have to be approved by the Sandyford Research Governance Group.
Patients do not have to take part in a project just because they have agreed to be contacted about research.
Ways into research
There are many ways to prepare yourself to be able to undertake a research project:
- Increase your understanding and awareness of existing research relevant to your area of expertise by reading relevant journals, attending a journal club, going to hear presentations of research or by attend training in reading research papers.
- Develop your research skills by taking part in clinical audit or research projects within your area.
- Further develop your research skills by undertaking a research methods training course as part of a Masters degree. Initiate your own research project within the training course, supported by NHS line managers and academic supervisors.
- Train to be an independent researcher by undertaking a PhD.