Clinical Research Network: North West Coast launch new funding model to tackle health inequalities
The Clinical Research Network: North West Coast is launching a new funding model that is aiming to help more communities address health inequalities through research. The Network consists of partners from NHS Hospitals, Integrated Care Systems, Primary Care and members of our communities that make up a 'partnership' that aims to deliver research across the North West Coast region. Previously the Network has allocated funding to partners based on how many participants are recruited into clinical trials in previous years.
Following the introduction of a new Research Delivery Strategy and a new Leadership Team at the Network a review of the old funding model has led to a few changes that will now improve how we deliver research to address health inequalities in our region. The review has been done in consultation with our NHS Partners.
The aim of the new model is to reward system level working and those collaboration activities that have not been recognised in the past. There is a transitional period until 31st March 2024 as the old model is replaced by the new model. There are some key principles to how the new model works:
- During the transitional year partners will receive what they received in the previous financial year.
- Partners will be able to apply for additional funding from a Strategic Project budget and this budget will be open at the start of the financial year.
- Partners will be asked to identify workforce resource that can help the region deliver it's strategic objectives.
- Partners are guided (where appropriate) to ensure a percentage of the overall budget is spent on Pharmacy (5%) Radiology (3%) Pathology (2%) Study Support (2%) and Radiotherapy Trial Quality Assurance. (1%)
- £1,180,423 which is 6.7% of the total network's budget will be used to fund a team of staff that work in a flexible way across the region to help support research activity in acute, primary care and other healthcare settings.
- £423,000 will be used to fund clinical leadership roles across 32 clinical specialties.
- £940,000 will be used to fund research activity across primary care, public health and social care
The table below lists the 2022/23 Funding Allocations that have been made to our NHS Partner Organisations. For the 2023/24 financial year which is the final year of the existing CRN contract it has been agreed to keep existing allocations static, without any changes.
| NHS Partner Organisation | Funding allocation |
|---|---|
| Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust | £1,161,113 |
| Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | £928,070 |
| Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust | £231,815 |
| Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | £512,052 |
| Marie Curie Hospice, Liverpool | £2,440 |
| Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust | £390,146 |
| Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | £1,329,157 |
| Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | £432,633 |
| Liverpool John Moores University | £10,000 |
| Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine | £10,144 |
| Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Delivery) | £2,281,853 |
| Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Host) | £4,896,334 |
| Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust | £512,483 |
| Local Authorities | £59,190 |
| Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust | £268,908 |
| Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | £400,710 |
| Primary Care: CRN North West Coast | £870,362 |
| Public Health England | £10,000 |
| Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust | £261,348 |
| St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | £494,860 |
| The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust | £807,834 |
| The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust | £375,775 |
| University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust | £602,243 |
| University of Lancaster | £45,574 |
| University of Liverpool | £128,724 |
| Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | £323,563 |
| Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | £392,684 |
If you have any queries about about this article please contact Jaime Halvorsen, Research Delivery Manager by email on jaime.halvorsen@nihr.ac.uk
