The launch of a cutting-edge NHS partnership is making it quicker and easier to access commercial health research in the South West.
Known as the South West Commercial Research Group (SWCRG), the new network is the first of its kind in the region, connecting expertise from across the NHS including GP practices, mental health services, and acute and community care.
Offering end-to-end support for clinical trials, rapid study set up, and access to a commercially experienced workforce, the SWCRG will create more opportunities for industry partners to work with the NHS, whilst benefitting local communities across the South West.
Professor Helen Quinn, Research and Development Director at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said
“Patients treated in NHS organisations where research takes place are known to have better health outcomes, and commercial research increases opportunities to reinvest in local NHS services while accelerating new treatments and therapies into routine care.
Combining our experience and resources across NHS organisations is a powerful way to increase our research capacity. This means we are able to open more research studies that matter most to our local population. This will greatly benefit our region, and I’m excited to see this develop in the coming years.”
The new network is formed of eight partners, including the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Devon Partnership NHS Trust, the Bristol NHS Group, and Devon-based GP practices. Their joint experience spans a wide range of specialties and therapeutic interventions, from regulated devices and medication to surgical procedures, and nutrition.
Dr Greg Davies, GP Partner at Amicus Health, said:
“For primary care, the SWCRG is transformative. It brings together the right people, the right support, and a shared ambition to grow commercial research across the region. It opens doors to innovative studies that simply wouldn’t reach our patients otherwise.”
Working closely with regional partners, the life science sector, and the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), the SWCRG is supported by funding provided by the South West Peninsula Regional Research Delivery Network.
Professor Fergus Caskey, Director of Research & Development at North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“Collaboration within our South West geography is crucial if we are to learn from each other, build strong links with industry partners, and create a thriving environment that is able to offer research participation to people whatever their background, whether they live in the cities, in the countryside, or on the coast.”
To learn more about the SWCRG including opportunities to work with us, browse our website.
