A further six Boots stores to support the delivery of the UK’s largest health research programme
Volunteers can take part in the UK’s largest ever health research programme at Boots stores in six new locations. Appointments will begin from 25th October in Longbridge, Dudley and Nottingham stores. Appointments will begin in Kensington, Strand and White City stores soon.
This is in addition to the four Boots stores currently supporting the delivery of Our Future Health: Bradford Broadway Shopping Centre, Birmingham High Street, London Piccadilly Circus and Manchester Market Street.
Our Future Health aims to transform the prevention, detection and treatment of conditions such as dementia, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. By combining health data and biological samples from up to five million volunteers right across the UK, the goal is to create one of the most detailed pictures ever of people’s health.
After receiving information about Our Future Health, volunteers will give their consent to join the research programme and provide secure access to their health records, complete a questionnaire and book an appointment. At their appointment at a Boots store, volunteers will have a blood sample taken by specially trained team members, plus some physical measurements including their blood pressure.
Martin Price was one of the first members of the public to join Our Future Health at a Boots store. He described the process as “quick and easy”. He added: “I found the digital service really easy to use and the appointment itself went smoothly. It probably took 20 minutes on the day. I’ve got some hereditary health problems in my family, including arthritis, so I thought: ‘if it helps research in the future then it’s a good thing to do’. It’s interesting to know when a disease carries through genetically. I hope my taking part is of help to researchers.”
Volunteers’ data will be held securely in trusted research environments that meet strict security criteria and will be anonymised. Volunteers will also be given the option to receive feedback about their health and the opportunity to take part in cutting-edge research studies in the future.
A total of 10 Boots stores now offer these appointments. This is just one of several ways in which members of the public can join Our Future Health, with a growing number of opportunities including pop-up and mobile clinics rolling out region by region in the coming months.
Dr Raghib Ali OBE, Chief Medical Officer of Our Future Health, said: “We’re delighted to continue working with Boots to help us to achieve our mission of helping people live healthier lives for longer. Having an opportunity for volunteers to join us via their local Boots store will make it easier and more accessible than ever before for people from all walks of life to take part in health research. By ensuring that a diverse range of people participate in Our Future Health, we can make discoveries that benefit everyone.”
Jamie Kerruish, Director of Healthcare at Boots, said: “We are proud to support such an important research programme by connecting Our Future Health with people who might be interested in taking part as volunteers and collecting their health data in our pharmacies. We are investing significantly in team member training to allow them to deliver a growing range of health services and diagnostics at our stores across the UK. At Boots, our vision is to be the healthcare provider of choice in communities across the country, providing convenient and accessible health services for all.”
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Contact
Lucy Benson at Our Future Health (media@ourfuturehealth.org.uk)
Rose Williams at Boots (media.enquiries@boots.co.uk)
About Our Future Health
Our Future Health is a collaboration between the public, private and charity sectors. It aims to be the UK’s largest health research programme, bringing people together to develop new ways to prevent, detect and treat disease.
Our Future Health is committed to the highest standards, policies and processes that protect participants’ confidentiality, whilst maximising the opportunity to help researchers to tackle serious diseases. Participants’ data will be de-identified and held securely in trusted research environments that meet strict security criteria. There will be a robust and transparent access process to ensure appropriate research access to Our Future Health data and samples for registered researchers. All researchers will be held to the same standards.
Our Future Health is a member of the UK Health Data Research Alliance, the independent alliance of leading healthcare and research organisations establishing best practice for the ethical use of UK health data for research at scale.
Our Future Health is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 12212468) and a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1189681) and OSCR, Scottish Charity Regulator (charity number SC050917).
About Boots
Boots is the UK’s leading health and beauty retailer. Its mission is to be the first choice for pharmacy, health and beauty – caring for people, customers and communities everywhere. With over 53,000 team members and 2,247 stores, ranging from local community pharmacies to large destination health and beauty stores, Boots serves its customer and patients’ wellbeing for life.*
Boots is the UK’s number one beauty destination and largest pharmacy chain providing dispensing and essential healthcare services, and it offers an unrivalled depth and breadth of product offering including its innovative portfolio of brands, including No7, the UK’s No1 skincare brand, Soap & Glory, Liz Earle, Sleek MakeUP and YourGoodSkin. For over 170 years, Boots has listened, learned and innovated, and it continues to challenge itself to improve its products and services every day.
Boots is part of Walgreens Boots Alliance, which is a global leader in pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing retail. More company information is available on boots-uk.com.
*Figures accurate as of 31 May 2022