A unique £10m centre for sport and exercise medicine is to be built in the East Midlands as part of Olympic-year government plans to promote health and fitness.
A consortium of six partners from hospitals and universities will run the centre, which will be a hub of research into sports and exercise injuries and conditions associated with lack of exercise. Its work will be shared with the NHS nationally.
Doctors and researchers from Nottingham and Leicester University Hospital NHS Trusts and the Universities of Nottingham, Loughborough and Leicester, as well as Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust will collaborate at the centre at Loughborough University. It will be one of three hubs, representing £30m funding and forming the first National Sports and Exercise Medicine Centre of Excellence.
Leading UK sports doctor, Professor Mark Batt, from Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust and The University of Nottingham, said: “The announcement of £30m funding for a National Centre of Excellence for Sport and Exercise medicine is a clear London 2012 legacy pledge, and continues the Government’s support given to this emerging specialty.
“The East Midlands has a long heritage of sport and sporting success and is a natural home for the new National Centre. Along with London and Sheffield it will form a networked National Centre to serve the general public, patients and athletes alike. The East Midlands consortium provides a fantastic array of clinical and research skills and experience to support exciting developments at the new National Centre.”
The centre will act as a focus for Sport and Exercise medicine research, encouraging the development of pathways and partnerships for the translation of research findings into practice. The envisaged clinical service provision includes:
• Routine and specialist (gait, biomechanical analysis) Sport and Exercise medicine NHS clinics: including advanced diagnostic imaging
• Specialist sport and physical activity related services: cardiology, respiratory medicine, eating disorders, etc
• Co-ordination and centralisation of services for university and elite athletes: working with The English Institute of Sport and national governing bodies of sport
• The development of Exercise Medicine services for the prevention/treatment of chronic illnesses/diseases
NUH NHS Trust and the University have for many years provided excellence in NHS clinical service delivery, teaching and research in Sport and Exercise medicine with three NHS Sport and Exercise medicine consultants working together with Wimbledon, England cricket and the English Institute of Sport.
Prof Batt said: “The further enhancement of Sport and Exercise medicine can be a lasting Olympic legacy benefiting the NHS and the whole country. The Faculty of Sport and Exercise medicine (FSEM) has advised the Department of Health on this project and fully support the development of the National Centre as an exciting and important venue for the training and employment of Sport and Exercise medicine physicians.”
Professor of Metabolic Physiology at The University of Nottingham, Ian Macdonald, said: “We are very excited to be part of this East Midlands Consortium. The University’s MSc in Sports and Exercise Medicine and associated research work in Sports Medicine, Exercise Physiology, Muscle Metabolism, and Nutrition will provide major inputs to the East Midlands contribution to this national initiative in Sport and Exercise Medicine. We look forward to working with the other members of the Consortium to enhance research, teaching and clinical practice in this important clinical area.”
Prof Mike Cooke CBE, Chief Executive of Notts Healthcare Trust, said: “This announcement of our successful joint bid will be a tangible outcome for the Olympic investment and an endorsement of our approach here in the East Midlands.”