A state-of-the-art mobile research unit will take to the roads to make it easier for people to take part in health research opportunities and clinical trials.

The van, which is equipped with patient treatment and waiting areas, will attend events to promote health and research, and give patients the opportunity to take part in studies.

It will be easier for patients to sign up to and remain on research trials because they won’t need to travel to dedicated research facilities, such as at King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton or their local GP practices.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — which runs King’s Mill, Mansfield Community and Newark hospitals — has teamed up with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, East Midlands Research Delivery Network, and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to provide the unit.

Alison Steel, head of Research and Innovation at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: “Research is vital to improving healthcare because it helps us to understand what treatments and interventions work and what doesn’t.”

Sherwood Forest Hospitals undertakes a wide variety of research, for example, screening for undiagnosed liver disease and treatment for high cholesterol. The Research and Innovation team currently cares for patients taking part in research trials in more than 25 areas, including respiratory, oncology, rheumatology, dementia, and ageing.