Burnham launches new primary care research facility
A new institution for primary care research was launched by health minister Andy Burnham last week. It is the first health research school established within the new National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), launched on 1 April.
With the aim of increasing the evidence base for primary care practice,
the school will receive £3m in funding per year. It will investigate
a range of ways of improving patient care, such as finding new methods
of preventing ill health and evaluating new ways of providing information
to patients and staff.
Mr Burnham commented: “The new NIHR School for Primary Care Research
will allow enthusiastic, dedicated individuals to ask the right questions
and set about finding an appropriate way of answering them. The vision
is of research leadership and a world-class environment to conduct clinical
trials and other well-designed studies in primary care and at the interface
with secondary/tertiary care.”
The five foundation departments of the school will be at the universities
of Birming-ham, Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester and Oxford. It will run
under the directorship of Martin Roland, director of general practice
at the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre, based at
the University of Manchester. A primary care research network will also
be set up to offer support for research projects through the provision
of dedicated research staff and support services. |
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