United Kingdom Clinical Research Network (UKCRN)
The UKCRN is part of the NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust is a contracted Partner Organisation of UKCRN, through the local East Midlands Clinical Research Network (one of 15 CRNS). This status places both obligations on the Trust (in terms of a requirement to support “Portfolio” research wherever possible – 100% of NHS Trusts are currently active partners), and opportunities, through becoming a recruitment or participant identification centre for cutting-edge research which may originate from anywhere in the world, but has sought “adoption” onto the “Portfolio”.
Through this network, the Trust may be in partnership on an ad hoc basis with multiple Universities, Commercial Organisations and other Healthcare Providers on a study-by-study basis, all with the aim of ensuring that we contribute to the “health and wealth of the nation” by facilitating high quality, multi-centre studies that provide the best evidence to potentially transform care, and people’s lives.
The Trust’s ability to deliver against Portfolio research is closely performance managed, with requirements to set-up quickly, and to have the first participant into a study within an agreed timeframe, and then to perform to “time and target”, over the course of the study.
All of the studies that we elect to support, are conducted to the highest standards, and are ICH-GCP compliant, with our performance on qualifyign clincial trials reported quarterly as part of national league tables.
Local Academic Partnerships
The Trust has over many years enjoyed a close relationship with the University of Leicester, leading to a number of joint academic/clinical posts particularly within the Medical School and with the Department of Health Sciences. This will be further enhanced through the recently announced Leicester Academic Health Partnership.
We also have a burgeoning relationship with DeMontfort University, who support new Clinical Research Associate posts in the Trust, and as an institution, are seeing the value of adopting their research on to the Portfolio.
The Trust also has a highly constructive relationship with the University of Loughborough, particularly in Human Factors research but also in Exercise Physiology and Eating Disorders.
Leicester Centre for Mental Health Research
Founded in 2018, LPT is a partner in the LCMHR, which aims to build a strong sustainable mental health research centre that will address the serious health challenges caused by mental ill-health through integrating excellent research with the service delivery in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Applied Research Collaboration (ARC)
The new ARC for the East Midlands is a five-year initiative, funded by the NIHR with a number of key themes: These are:
- Building Community Resilience and Enabling Independence
- Data2Health
- Ethnicity & Health Inequalities
- Managing Multimorbidity
- Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Translating and Implementing Sustainable Service Improvement
The ARC build upon the success of the past ten years through the former CLAHRC (Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care). As before, the Trust is a key partner in the collaboration, and looks forward to playing a full and active role in applying research to transform care.