This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Health research funding
21/05/2004
A new £8 million programme to support patient focused research by nurses, midwives, and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) was announced today.
Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said:
"Scotland has traditionally been an international leader not only for excellence in medical research but also in translating that directly into major benefits for patients.
"Nurses, midwives and AHPs are playing increasingly important roles in delivering care and have a major part to play in improving patient outcomes.
"I recognise the enormous intellectual contribution these professions make to healthcare. This funding will enhance that ability by facilitating nurses, midwives and members of the allied health professions to undertake research which will make a real difference to the people of Scotland.
"The Executive has supported outstanding individual research in the past, such as the work of Hazel McHaffie, in promoting better practice in neonatology units based on the experience of bereaved parents.
"This is just one example of many very good projects across Scotland but this funding provides a more systematic and cohesive approach to such research. There is a largely untapped potential here and I am confident that the professions will more than rise to the challenge."
The investment, provided by the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and NHS Education for Scotland, will be available over four years.
It will be awarded to three consortia which together cover all nursing, midwifery and AHP staff in NHSScotland. AHPs include a range of disciplines such as radiographers, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists.
Research will include:
- In the South East, improving recovery from acute illness and trauma, early years parenting and better management of chronic diseases
- In the West, care of the elderly, improving mobility for people with disabilities and improving decision making for patients and health professionals.
- In the Central and North region, helping people with cardiovascular illness to prevent or improve their condition through enhancing self care, with the aim of providing a model to be used for other conditions.
Launching the initiative at the University of Stirling, Mr Chisholm said:
"One of the best ways to improve healthcare is to use good evidence based on what works for patients.
"Nurses, midwives and allied health professionals working at the frontline of the NHS are, through the direct contact they have with patients every day, in an excellent position to carry out research that will be truly responsive to the needs of patients.
"It will give nurses, midwives and AHPs an opportunity to enhance their clinical experience whilst developing research skills which will have undoubted benefits for NHS Scotland."
Proposals for funding were invited from three consortia covering the whole of the NHS and the Higher Education Institutions in Scotland. This new scheme complements the capacity building schemes funded by the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) at the Scottish Executive and the research training scheme launched in 2003.
The £8 million comprises: £4 million from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, £3 million from the Scottish Executive and £1 million from NHS Education for Scotland.
Hazel McHaffie, then a clinical midwife, was one of the first research training fellows funded by the Chief Scientist Office in the early 1980s.
After obtaining her PhD she became a full-time researcher. In conjunction with five consultant neonatologist colleagues, she carried out a CSO-funded study on parents' perspectives on withholding or withdrawing treatment for new born babies. The resultant publication Crucial Decisions At The Beginning Of Life was the British Medical Association's book of the year in 2002. The judges also said it was likely to change the practice of UK medicine.