Our leadership in NHS research recognised in new regional role
Barts Health is to become the host of a new regional network for the whole of north London dedicated to boosting research into improving patient care.
We are among 12 NHS trusts across the country chosen to host a regional research delivery network on behalf of the government and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). These regional networks will form part of the NIHR Research Delivery Network, which will operate as a single organisation across England.
They are funded by the Department of Health and Social Care as part of a strategy to make the UK the best place in the world for commercial companies to develop innovative new treatments and technologies.
Barts Health is well-placed because of our track record in securing sponsorship from both commercial sources and NIHR, together with our ambitious plans to make Barts Life Sciences a magnet for healthcare innovation from industry.
The new arrangement will start next October following a reorganisation that will bring together existing clinical research networks covering North Thames, which we already host, and North West London, which is run by Imperial College Healthcare.
Working with our partners, we will use our expanded geographical remit to further develop our efforts to focus research on communities with the greatest disease burden, and recruit more people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities into clinical trials.
Dr Jenny Rivers, Director of Research and Development, said: “We are delighted to host this new partnership for advancing research that has the potential to transform patient care.
“North London boasts an impressive range of research opportunities that can bring substantial benefit to our diverse patient population. We are excited by the chance to shape local, regional and national policy in collaboration with our healthcare partners in the NHS and elsewhere.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Executive of the NIHR, said: “The new NIHR RDN will build capacity to extend research delivery in primary, community and social care settings to make it easier for patients to get access to cutting-edge treatments and new models of care, through research.”
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