A multi-centre programme of clinical and epidemiological research in support of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England has been awarded funding by the Department of Health. The grant for three research centres at the universities of Bristol, Manchester and Oxford is valued at almost £900,000.
The successful bid was led by Professor David Gunnell of Bristol University’s Department of Social Medicine in association with the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.
The award was part of a total of £45m in funding announced by the Department of Health for 29 important and substantial research programmes as part of the National Institute for Health Research into areas such as mental health, medicines for children, diabetes, stroke, and dementias, neurodegenerative diseases and neurology.
The programmes of research aim to increase understanding of how to manage and treat these types of diseases more effectively, develop new treatments and help prevent ill health developing in the first place.
This new government funding will improve health outcomes for patients in England with particular emphasis on conditions that cause chronic distress to patients and that are a significant issue for the NHS to manage. It will also enable NHS trusts to tackle areas of high priority for patients.
Lord Hunt, Minister of State for Quality, said: “This significant new research funding stream, which will be worth up to £75 million each year when fully established, provides a marvellous opportunity for the NHS to carry out research that will lead to improved health care or better health care delivery in the near future. The first awards focus on developing medicines specifically for children, and research into diabetes, stroke, mental health, dementias and other neurodegenerative diseases, all of which are health areas that are central to the government's key concerns.”
Programme Grants for Applied Research are prestigious awards supporting teams of leading researchers, from the NHS and academia working together, who have already demonstrated an impressive track-record of achievement in applied health research. They will support work directed towards delivering research findings that have practical application for the benefit of patients.