New funding to assess quality of care in NHS general practice
A team of clinical scientists from the University of Southampton has been awarded major funding to investigate how the NHS can improve primary healthcare. They have joined a national partnership of the eight, top-rated university departments of primary care, awarded more than £32 million over five years by the Department of Health, dedicated to investigating the care of common disorders in general practice in order to develop better primary care services.
Working together for the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), in the School for Primary Care Research, they will investigate the treatment of:
- Self-limiting illnesses such as acute infections
- Back pain and osteoporosis
- Depression and other mental health problems
- Health promotion including weight loss and exercise
- The effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicines
Membership of the NIHR School for Primary Care Research is limited to only the best-performing primary care departments. The team from Southampton were selected after achieving a very high rating in the 2008 national universities' assessment of research quality. They collaborate with scientists who have expertise in health services research, psychology, social statistics and computer science.
Professor Tony Kendrick
, Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the University's School of Medicine is leading the Primary Medical Care group (PMC). He explains: "It's gratifying to have the international excellence of our research recognised in this way, and the five year funding will allow us to develop our applied health research programme together with colleagues around the country."
Photographed above: Dr Ian Williamson , Dr Michael Moore , Professor Tony Kendrick , Professor Paul Little , Professor George Lewith
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