The University of Nottingham

November 20 2014

The Division of Primary Care at The University of Nottingham, along with eight other Universities has been selected to share £30m in additional research funding for the next five years.

The Division is part of The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research. The funding will allow it to conduct high-quality research to increase the evidence needed to support primary care practice and train future research leaders through multidisciplinary training and career development opportunities in healthcare, science and clinical settings.

Tony Avery, Director of Research and Professor in Primary Care, said: “We are delighted to have retained our membership of the NIHR School for Primary Care Research. This will enable us to continue with our research to help GPs, and other colleagues in primary care, provide the best care for patients. It will also enable us to train the next generation of primary care researchers so that they can tackle future challenges facing the NHS.”

The NIHR SPCR was established in October 2006, as a partnership between five leading academic centres for primary care research in England. Nottingham joined the school in August 2009, when the Membership of the NIHR SPCR increased from five to eight academic centres.

Focusing on the needs of the NHS

The £30m grant over five years will be shared between The University of Nottingham, Bristol University, University of Cambridge, Keele University, the University of Manchester, Newcastle University, the University of Oxford, the University of Southampton and University College London.

Research carried out by the Division of Primary Care at Nottingham addresses NHS priorities in:

• Producing tools that allow healthcare professionals, patients and commissioners to calculate the risks of patients developing illnesses (such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease) so that action can be taken to prevent these problems.

• Producing evidence to show what works best in primary care in relation to accident prevention — particularly in children and older people. Preventing medication errors. Using genetic information to enable healthcare professionals and patients to make informed decisions and helping patients to stop smoking, particularly in pregnancy.