The Southwest Peninsula Clinical Research Collaboration, a partnership between Peninsula Medical School, NHS South West and the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, has been awarded a £20 million grant to conduct research and improve care in major conditions including heart disease, diabetes, mental illness, childhood disability and age related conditions. This is one of seven new collaborations between NHS organisations and leading Universities announced today by Public Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo.
The new NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care were selected by an independent international selection panel and will start work on 1 October 2008.
Each Collaboration will bring together universities and their surrounding NHS organisations to test new treatments and new ways of working in specific clinical areas, to see if they are effective and appropriate for everyday use in the health service. Where potential improvements are identified, the Collaborations will help NHS staff to incorporate them into their everyday working practices, so that patients across the local community receive a better standard of healthcare.
Dawn Primarolo said: “This new government funding will help to improve health outcomes for patients across England, with particular emphasis on conditions that cause chronic distress to patients and are a significant issue for the NHS to manage.”
Sir John Tooke, Dean of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry and Chair of the South West Peninsula Clinical Research Collaboration, said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the clinical academic partnership in Devon and Cornwall to engage in research that will improve our health services and better meet the needs of our population.
“It will enable us to address major health problems including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, mental illness, childhood disability and age related conditions.
“We will now have the means to address the questions that matter most to patients and local healthcare professionals, and accelerate the translation of research findings into practice. The funding provided will also support our plans to develop a world leading Institute of Environment and Human Health focussed in Cornwall. It is particularly encouraging to have the development of the environment theme endorsed by the high level international advisory panel that reviewed our submission, which augurs well for other support we are seeking for this crucially important area.”
This substantial award, achieved after fierce competition, is a measure of the quality of the partnership between the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter, the NHS in Devon and Cornwall and our Strategic Health Authority NHS South West, and underscores our burgeoning research reputation”.
Professor Sally C. Davies, Director General of Research and Development, Department of Health said: “The NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care represent an exciting and innovative partnership between Universities and the NHS. They will undertake high quality applied health research and develop new ways of translating research findings into improved outcomes for patients. They will be conducting this work at the front line of the NHS so that the benefits and findings from research can be swiftly incorporated into routine clinical practice.”
Notes to Editors
1. The NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRCs) will undertake high-quality applied health research focused on the needs of patients and support the translation of research evidence into practice in the NHS for the benefit of patients, including the trialling and evaluation of initiatives to encourage adoption of evidence based practice or clinical effectiveness. Further information about NIHR CLAHRCs is available at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/infrastructure_clahrcs.aspx.
2. List of NIHR CLAHRC awards and areas of activity:
Name of Collaboration Lead NHS Organisation Academic Partner(s) Themes
Birmingham & Black Country Collaboration University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust University of Birmingham · From structure to function: health service redesign· Evaluation of Paediatric Outreach Services· Early detection and interventions in psychosis· Housing and Health: SMART, Equal Independent· Re-designed maternity support services for multi-ethnic disadvantaged groups· Investment in prevention (evaluation of targeted prevention of cardiovascular disease in primary care)· Optimisation of the Management of Stroke and TIA· Implementation of effective community care for diabetes· Improving patient safety: studying an evolving information technology (IT) system Leeds York Bradford Research Alliance (LYBRA) Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust University of LeedsUniversity of York · Physical health and addiction· IMproving PRevention Of Vascular diseasE in primary care – IMPROVE-PC· Improving maternity and child health and well-being through the development and implementation of research-calibre information systems· Outcome-driven stroke care· TRIP-LAB (Translating Research Into Practice in Leeds and Bradford)
Name of Collaboration Lead NHS Organisation Academic Partner(s) Themes
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire & Rutland CLAHRC University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust University of Leicester · Prevention of chronic disease and its associated co-morbidity· Early detection of chronic diseases in a multi-ethnic population in primary care· Structured education and self-management programmes in long term conditions· Rehabilitation· Implementation for health Manchester CLAHRC Salford Teaching Primary Care Trust University of Manchester · People with Long Term Conditions: Guided information for people with long term conditions – implementing self-care support in diabetes, heart and kidney disease· Health Care Practitioners: New approaches to the treatment of depression in people with long term conditions· Health Care Services: Patient-centred access and guided self-management in specialist care for patients with diabetes and kidney disease· Health Information Systems: Information systems to improve healthcare monitoring and planning for people with long-term conditions· Stroke· Diabetes· Chronic Kidney Disease· Heart Disease North West London CLAHRC Chelsea & Westminster NHS Foundation Trust Imperial College London · Developing service innovations to improve the patient journey of the acutely ill patient across professional or organisational interfaces of care· Developing service innovations for the delivery of chronic disease care pathways to improve the patient journey across professional or organisational interfaces· Collaborative Learning and Delivery Pathway for Improvement· Patient and Public Involvement· Evaluation of the implementation of research into practice
Name of Collaboration Lead NHS Organisation Academic Partner(s) Themes
South West Peninsula Clinical Research Collaboration NHS South West University of ExeterUniversity of PlymouthPeninsula Medical School · Diabetes and Cardiovascular Health· Mental Health & Neurology· Development & Ageing· Environment & Human Health· Implementation Group South Yorkshire Applied Research & Care Consortium (SYARCC) Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust University of SheffieldSheffield Hallam University · Research evaluation of Rotherham Breathing Space Programme for COPD· Enabling more effective self management in diabetes; embedding structure education in clinical care· Stroke – Prevention and Long-Term Management in the Community· Obesity Reduction in South Yorkshire: a Randomised Controlled Trial of Services for Obese Adults· Technologies for long term conditions – fitness for purpose, evidence and potential for the future· Genetics· User-Centred Health Care Design· Translating knowledge into action· Intelligent commissioning· Reducing health inequalities
3. The NIHR CLAHRCs were selected by an international expert selection panel that employed an independent, transparent and objective process of expert peer review. The Selection Panel members were:
Professor Jonathan Lomas (Chair) Former Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Health Services Research Foundation
Professor Warwick Anderson Chief Executive Officer, National Health & Medical Research Council, Australia
Professor Huw Davies Director, Social Dimensions of Health Institute, Universities of Dundee and St. Andrews
Professor John Gabbay Emeritus Professor, Wessex Institute for Health Research and Development, University of Southampton
Sir Muir Gray Director, NHS National Knowledge Service and Chief Knowledge Officer to the NHS
In Attendance:
Professor Sally Davies Director General for Research & Development, Department of Health
Dr Russell Hamilton Deputy Director of Research & Development, Department of Health
4. To be successful, the NHS/University partnerships had to demonstrate an excellent record in undertaking applied health research (particularly research targeted at chronic disease and ways of improving public health) and to put forward very strong proposals for new research and for implementing research findings, which were very likely to generate a step change in the way that research is done and research evidence is implemented into practice.
5. The research to be undertaken by the NIHR CLAHRCs will aim to improve diagnosis and/or treatment and ensure that improved ways of working are introduced into the NHS in the following areas:
- Heart failure
- Child health and wellbeing
- Early detection and interventions in psychosis
- Redesign of health services
- Maternity support for multi-ethnic disadvantaged groups
- Stroke care
- Kidney disease
- Diabetes and obesity
- Environment and human health
- Development and ageing
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
6. The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. More information about the National Institute for Health Research is available on its website at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk.
7. The National Institute for Health Research’s progress report “Transforming Health Research the first two years” can be downloaded from the NIHR website at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/about_progress_report.aspx.
8. The Peninsula Medical School is a joint entity of the University of Exeter, the University of Plymouth and the NHS in the South West of England, and a partner of the Combined Universities in Cornwall. The Peninsula Medical School has created for itself an excellent national and international reputation for groundbreaking research in the areas of diabetes and obesity, mental health and neurological disease, child development and ageing, clinical education and health technology assessment.