Dr Belinda Lennox appointed Clinical Director of the Thames Valley and South Midlands NIHR Clinical Research Network
Belinda Lennox said: "This is an exciting time to be getting involved in the new, local Clinical Research Network. We are starting from an enviable position in our region of strong existing collaborations and research activity seen across every specialty area. We look forward to building on this with the goal that every person using NHS services in our region will have the opportunity to take part in high quality research"
Clinical research in the region will receive a boost today (1 April 2014), with the launch of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network: Thames Valley and South Midlands
The Network – one of 15 across England, which all begin operating from today - brings together local hospitals, doctors' surgeries and other healthcare providers from across the region, to collaborate in conducting high quality clinical research studies that could lead to better treatments for NHS patients.NIHR Clinical Research Network: Thames Valley and South Midlands will receive around £13.5 M of funding this year to invest in clinical research nurses to match patients with appropriate research opportunities, carry out the clinical duties required for the studies and cover research-related costs such as x-rays and scans.
Having the opportunity to take part in research studies is important to the region's patients and carers. According to a consumer poll carried out by Censuswide last year, 95 per cent of people in the South East said that NHS doctors and nurses should always tell patients about clinical trials that would be suitable for them.
Commenting on the start-up of NIHR Clinical Research Network: Thames Valley and South Midlands Dr Jonathan Sheffield, chief executive of the Network at a national level explained: "The Network has in fact been running for a while, but from April 2014 we will be operating in a new structure that will help us to reach out to even more healthcare providers and patients, and really make clinical research a part of the "day job" for the NHS – which is what it should be."
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