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Health research
26/11/2008
Funding of £4 million is being made available by the Scottish Government to help health professionals better understand life threatening diseases, explore new treatments and technology and evaluate health services.
The cash will support Scottish participation in programmes of research being co-ordinated through the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR), allowing Scottish and other UK researchers access to an £80 million central fund.
In addition to receiving access to a wealth of new research funding, Scottish researchers will benefit from more opportunities to conduct clinical trials, health technology assessment, public health research including disease prevention and health services research through programmes being coordinated by the English National Institute for Health Research.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said:
"I am delighted that Scottish researchers will be able to participate in the exciting new funding opportunities for health research that will arise from working in partnership across the UK and am confident that the investment announced today will bring substantial benefits to Scottish patients in the future."
Chief Scientist Professor Sir John Savill said:
"Today's announcement is one of great importance for both the Scottish health research community and patients in Scotland more widely. The areas of research that the funding covers are of great relevance to the Scottish public. I look forward to Scottish successes in obtaining funding, which in turn will lead to improvements in health in Scotland, the UK and further afield."
OSCHR was originally created in 2007 in order to develop a more coherent strategic approach to health research in the UK. Initial successes in England have now been strengthened through partnership with Scotland and Wales. This change reflects the collaborative, multi-centre nature of much health research, and the need to maximise UK competitiveness in a global health research environment.
OSCHR was initially set up in January 2007 following the blueprint laid out in Sir David Cooksey's review of Health Research.
Over the past 22 months, the role of OSCHR has evolved in order to maximise its impact on UK health research. Following discussions with the Scottish Government, Scotland agreed to become a full partner in OSCHR earlier this year.
The research funding to which Scottish researchers will have access will be administered through the English National Institute of Health Research Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NIHR NETS CC) in the following areas:
- Health Technology Assessment - main programme, themed calls, evaluation of diagnostic tests, assessment of medical devices
- Clinical Trials - HTA clinical trials, large scale clinical trials
- Health Services Research
- Public Health Research - disease prevention, evaluation of public health interventions
Scotland has committed a total of £4 million over the next two years toward a set of strategic research programmes with a total value of 80M pounds. Scotland traditionally attracts a greater proportion of health research funding than its population would expect.