Tuesday, 25 October 2022
Researchers at the University of Nottingham have been awarded a share of £25 million by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to help improve patient safety and the overall safety of health and care services across England.
The Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC) will run from 2023-2028. It will be led by researchers from the University of Manchester, alongside teams from the University of Nottingham and the University of Leicester.
The collaborations will address strategic patient safety challenges within the health and care system, focusing on seven strategic areas set out by NHS England. These areas cover issues such as clinical risk scores, which enable professionals to identify people who may benefit from preventative interventions and improving the culture and practice in organisations to promote patient safety.
Patient safety is about maximising the things that go right and minimising the things that go wrong for people receiving healthcare. We are aligning our funding with the strategic priorities from NHS England and ensuring that we are addressing the issues that really matter to patients.
Professor Chappell continues: “This new round of funding gives the best researchers the opportunity to assess innovations and approaches that could shift this balance for the better.”
The research teams will develop and test innovations, approaches and interventions that could improve patient safety and the safety of health and care services. The funding will also enable partnerships to be built between health and care organisations, universities, local authorities, and patients and the public.
The collaborations are an evolution of the Patient Safety Translational Research Centres (PSTRCs), which were first funded by the NIHR a decade ago.
The Greater Manchester PSRC will focus on the following themes:
- Improving Medication Safety
- Enhancing Cultures of Safety
- Developing Safer Health and Care Systems
- Preventing Suicide and Self-harm
The new ‘Improving Medication Safety’ theme will be led by Tony Avery, Professor of Primary Health Care at the University of Nottingham and Professor Darren Ashcroft, Director of the Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration.
Our research will help to improve the safety of medicines use in the NHS, harnessing digital technologies alongside high quality care from pharmacists, GPs and other health and care professionals.
Being at the forefront of patient safety research is a priority for the University of Nottingham. The new Patient Safety Research Collaborations are a fantastic opportunity to improve patient safety and I'm excited to see what can be achieved on the theme of Improving Medication Safety.
The ‘Enhancing Cultures of Safety’ theme, will be led by Professors Natalie Armstrong and Carolyn Tarrant at the University of Leicester.
The ‘Developing Safer Health and Care Systems’ theme will be led by Professor Caroline Sanders and Dr Tom Blakeman at the University of Manchester and aims to work with patients, carers and key stakeholders to improve how multiple health and care providers work together to deliver care safely.
The second theme to be based at The University of Manchester is ‘Preventing Suicide and Self-harm’. Professors Nav Kapur and Roger Webb will lead this work, which will identify, refine and subsequently evaluate service innovations that have enhanced patient safety in specialist mental health services, self-harm services across general hospitals and primary care.
The Greater Manchester PSRC will be hosted by Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. Professor Phil Kalra, Director of Research & Innovation, said: “Research that focuses on patient safety across health and social care is vital. We have been impressed with the achievements of the Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre and are pleased to be hosting the new Patient Safety Research Collaboration from 2023. All four of the collaboration’s new themes are relevant to the NCA and we are looking forward to working together to improve patient safety.”
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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