Health research strategy announced
A new national health research strategy was announced at the end of January by Jane Kennedy, minister for quality and patient safety.
The strategy “Best
research for best health”, aims to provide
patients with better access to new medicines and treatments, and to support
health and social care researchers throughout England. It sets out how
the Department of Health will spend over £650m per year on research
and development, with the funding directed at relevant high-quality patient-based
research.
As part of the strategy, every patient will have access to clinical trials
and have the opportunity to participate in studies involving new medical
therapies.
The health research infrastructure of the NHS is being improved by the
establishment of the National Institute for Health Research, the National
School for Primary Care Research and NHS research networks across England.
Measures will also be introduced to tackle the bureaucracy that is impairing
research. Research passports will be introduced with the aim of avoiding
repetition of credential checks by different health authorities and a
national expert advice line will be set up to advise researchers on the
interpretation of the law.
The Department of Health will also work closely with the national programme
for IT — Connecting for Health — to ensure that data collected
from the NHS meets the needs of researchers and enables patients to access
opportunities to participate in clinical trials.
Research programmes are to be expanded and the NHS research networks
will be funded on a population basis.
Ms Kennedy says: “The requirement to conduct research and development
for the improvement of health and medical treatments was one of the founding
principles of the National Health Service. The NHS has a key role to
play in determining the future health and wealth of this country, and
the Government is determined to harness its capacity to make the UK the
best place in the world for health research.”
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Hospital Pharmacist