The Department of Health has launched a consultation on proposals for a new modernised National Health Research Strategy. The views of research professionals, organisations, patients and the public are being sought on the future direction of health research for the Department of Health and the NHS in England.
Government consults on health research
The strategy aims to ensure the NHS supports the Government’s commitment to positioning the UK as the best place in the world for health research, development and innovation. The proposed changes include modernising the way research in the NHS is funded, establishing a set of academic medical centres, and creating the National Institute for Health Research – a virtual institute to work with the UK Clinical Research Collaboration to co-ordinate the research infrastructure of the NHS. This would bring together, for the first time, all elements of NHS and Department of Health research.
Health Minister, Jane Kennedy said: “We want to create a health research system in which the NHS supports outstanding individuals, working in world-class facilities, conducting leading-edge research, focused on the needs of patients and the public.
This consultation document sets out our proposals for achieving this, placing patients at the centre of a system that focuses on quality, transparency, and value for money.”
