DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by The Government News Network on 17 January 2008
Patient and public
involvement are key to success
A progress report is published today by the National Institute
for Health Research (NIHR), which summarises all the progress that
has been made putting in place the infrastructure, programmes and
systems to facilitate health research - since the government
launched the Best Research for Best Health strategy in January 2006.
Also launched today is a new section of the NHS Choices website,
which is designed to give patients and members of the public more
information about how to get involved in clinical trials.
The main progress highlighted includes:
* NIHR clinical research networks have been set up to support
clinical trials throughout England, and promote patient and public
involvement in health research. They are already boosting the
numbers taking part in clinical trials improving their speed,
quality and co-ordination.
* A good example is cancer research. The UK now has the highest
national per capita rate of cancer trial participation in the world.
* Creating world class centres of excellence around the country.
£450 million has been invested in eleven new biomedical research
centres which are investigating major causes of illness and death
such as cancer, heart disease, asthma, HIV, mental illness,
blindness, childhood diseases and ageing.
* The NIHR is now commissioning more research through our new
and expanded programmes and world class research centres. In
2006/07 our Health Technology Assessment Programme funded 22 new
projects at a cost of more than 15 million pounds. In the same
period we expanded our Service Delivery and Organisation programme
to include new topics and areas and funded £45 million in
programme grants.
The new 'Health Research' feature of the NHS Choices
website provides information for those who are interested in all
aspects of research - from setting research priorities to actually
participating in trials themselves. The emphasis today is about
ensuring medical research is relevant and benefits all communities
across the country.
Clinical trials are research studies where patients test
treatments or approaches to prevention or diagnosis to see if they
are safe and effective, and any better than what already exists.
As well as encouraging more patients to take part in clinical
trials there is also a need for more people to get actively
involved in their development. It is not only patients who can do
this, but carers, parents, and members of the public. This
includes helping researchers to identify and ask the right
questions in the right way and making sure that health and social
care research is relevant to all those who use health services.
Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said:
"The Government is committed to making the NHS in England a
centre of excellence for health research. To do this we need the
help of the public in getting involved in health research across
the country.
"In October 2007 the Government confirmed its commitment to
supporting
health research in the Comprehensive Spending
Review. Public funding for health research will rise to £1.7
billion, with ring-fenced funding for the National Institute for
Health Research of £1 billion by 2010-11. This level of funding
will support an unprecedented growth in the number of NHS clinical
trials in England.
Sally Davies, Director General of Research and Development,
Department of Health said:
"Our intention is to make the NHS a hive of research
activity that attracts the best researchers in the world. We are
fostering a culture that pioneers new treatments in the full range
of NHS settings, and working to improve the health outcomes for
all NHS patients.
"We know that clinical trials have a positive effect
throughout the NHS as new findings and best practice are developed
and shared. I would like to encourage people who are interested
to visit the NHS Choices for further information about getting
involved in health research."
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Chief Executive of the Medical Research
Council said:
"In less than two years since it was established, the
National Institute for Health Research has made incredible
progress in transforming the research environment in the NHS. The
MRC is delighted to be working in ever closer collaboration with
NIHR to deliver enhanced opportunities for clinicians and
biomedical scientists.
"The NIHR has channelled ever greater investment into
expanding programmes of research, and provided funding to support
innovative technologies and improved facilities and equipment in
the NHS. It is streamlining research processes to ensure this
country remains the place of choice for the pharmaceutical,
bioscience and healthcare industries R&D. The scale of change
and the overall achievement is to be welcomed and lauded wholeheartedly."
Notes to Editors:
1. 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.
2. The NIHR research networks include the Primary /care /research
Network, Comprehensive Research Network and six topic specific
clinical research networks for cancer, dementia and
neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, medicines for children,
mental health and stroke.
3. Biomedical Research Centres will drive innovation in the
prevention, diagnosis and treatment of ill-health and translate
these advances into NHS practice.
4. For information about clinical trials please go to http://www.nhs.uk.
5. A case study of a 10 year old child patient who was involved
in a clinical trial is below.
BETTER TREATMENTS FOR SICK CHILDREN
The new NIHR Medicines for Children Research Network (MCRN), led
by a partnership between the University of Liverpool and Alder Hey
hospital (the Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust), aims to
facilitate the development of safe, effective medicines
specifically for children meaning that, for the first time ever,
children can benefit from treatments designed, developed and
licensed especially for them.
Many of the medicines doctors use to treat sick children are
actually designed for and tested in adults. Clinicians use their
skill and judgement in deciding how to prescribe them for
children, but they desperately need a sounder evidence base for
their prescriptions.
A wide range of health professionals are involved in the Network
together with representatives from the pharmaceutical industry and
most importantly, children and their parents.
Georgia Semple,
10, who used to have leukemia, explains how she hopes the
Medicines for Children Research Network will improve treatments
for others like herself.
"Having leukaemia was horrid for me and my family. I felt
sick and tired all the time. The medicines were horrible. They
made my hair fall
out, which made me cry and cry. And I had to
go to hospital every time I had even a tiny infection. I was on
medicine for two and a half years and finished in May. I feel OK
now but I still get tired.
The MCRN asked my Daddy if I would be interested in being on its
children's group Stand Up, Speak Up! I said 'Yes'
because I want people to find better medicines than the ones I had.
We meet up about once every two months. There are about 14
children in the group split into two age groups - 9 to 12 and 13
to 18.
We have been learning about how medicines work, where they come
from and how trials are done. I know what a randomised controlled
trial (RCT) is and I am in one for leukaemia treatment.
We've helped make information sheets better for children and
designed logos, which were actually used. I also designed the
smiley faces logo for Stand Up, Speak Up!
Our group is working with researchers to help design better
trials aimed at children and young people.
I missed that session but we choose ones that should make a real
difference to how children are treated."
Georgia Semple is on the young persons' advisory panel set
up to work with MCRN leaders and to encourage young people
receiving medical care to take part in research. She has two
sisters, a kitten, a dog and a Mummy and Daddy.