It’s World Mental Health Day 🌍
Clinical trial work can be intense with deadlines, meetings, data, decisions... Mindfulness has helped me find calm in the middle of it.

A short reflection (and a 30-second exercise): aaronsopslog.wordpress.com/2025/10/10/i...

Application of Continuous Improvement in Clinical Trials Clinical trials exist to shorten the distance between today’s treatment and tomorrow’s better one. They are, at their core, exercises in continuous improvement. Every protocol is written to nudge m…

Trials aim to make treatments better.

But do trials themselves get better as they go?

Continuous improvement isn’t corporate fluff. It’s the difference between a drug reaching patients this year… or next.

aaronsopslog.wordpress.com/2025/10/03/a...

First Patient In is important but treating it as a KPI (like the NHS’s 150-day target) risks gaming the metric - like congratulating a runner at the start line. What matters is making research part of care, with patients choosing it as a trusted pathway.
👉 aaronsopslog.wordpress.com/2025/09/26/f...

Getting to Greenlight: How Can We Activate Clinical Trials, Fast? The process of bringing a clinical trial site from expression of interest to first patient in is often summed up in one word – greenlight. It’s the moment when a hospital or research unit is …

Getting clinical trials greenlit is harder than it should be. Contracts, IMP, radiation assurance… It's all very important. However, a major issue is study designs that forget what’s realistic for sites and for patients.

I’ve shared a few ideas: aaronsopslog.wordpress.com/2025/09/19/g...

I got to speak today at UHDB’s International Patient Safety Day event on listening in safety.

Systems need to make space for being a good listener but also a good “listenee.”

As a Patient Safety Partner, I get to see when patients, families, and staff are all part of the conversation.

Beyond the Tick-Box: Making the Most of SIVs Site Initiation Visits (SIVs) are meant to set the tone for how a trial will run. Too often, they risk becoming a box-ticking exercise: a slide deck is read out, attendees nod politely, and everyon…

Site Initiation Visits shouldn’t just be box-ticking.
My latest post: moving past slide decks, modular training, and turning SIVs into genuine conversations.
🔗 aaronsopslog.wordpress.com/2025/09/12/b...

Are we ready? Trial success depends on more than opening sites. First, there's site evaluation and feasibility = capacity, capability, and commitment.
aaronsopslog.wordpress.com?p=110

A great legacy stemming from a tragic incident. Martha's Rule is in effect at all acute hospitals in England, giving patient's and their loved ones a better opportunity to be listened to. The pilot evidence shows a clear benefit to patient safety and outcomes.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Using a clinical trial protocol as the operational “source of truth”? Could it be time for an upgrade? aaronsopslog.wordpress.com/2025/08/29/b...

Branching Out: Managing Protocol Updates In Part 1 of this two part piece on document versioning (you lucky things!), I have been reflecting on when I first had to up-version a protocol, the process nearly broke me. More than 1,500 change…

Ever had to manage change in a complex documents with more editors and suggestions than you can shake a stick at? aaronsopslog.wordpress.com?p=85

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Radiopharmaceuticals – Regulatory and Practical Perspectives This week I’ve been working on protocol updates and aligning radiopharmaceutical handling documents. It’s been a reminder of just how many moving parts there are in this type of trial. Radiop…

Radiopharmaceutical trial docs include the usual IMP paperwork, but with a twist - short half-lives + just-in-time delivery. No room for delays or errors.

I pinned a few ideas for how we could make these workflows easier.

Link: aaronsopslog.wordpress.com/2025/08/15/r...

The Schedule of Events in clinical trials is key but often a mess. I have been having a think and would also welcome your own thoughts on what works for you: aaronsopslog.wordpress.com?p=51

Always great to attend the @hralatest.bsky.social Study Setup Advisory Board and hear about the important work underway to streamline UK clinical trials. I was pleased to share updates on @spectre-ctops.bsky.social - great to see so much interest in our next steps! #ClinicalTrials #UKResearch

Perhaps my email signature is going to be too long for a bit but I'll be happy to have this addition for a time to reflect work of our #GreenImpact team at @ucl.ac.uk 's Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology. Lovely team to have chaired!

Recently marked our 100th participant joining the STAMPEDE2 study for people with metastatic prostate cancer. A privilege to see patients sign up following hard work by @mrcctu.bsky.social colleagues, funders and, importantly, teams at all onboarded locations 👉 www.stampede2trial.org/sites/stampe...

Excited to be hosting our first workshop tomorrow, building on work from @mrcctu.bsky.social to improve clinical trial site setup processes.
We’re joined by collaborators from CTUs and hospitals across the UK.
Watch this space for updates!