The overall purpose of the Department of Health is to help improve the health and wellbeing of everyone in England. We do this by leading and supporting NHS and social care organisations so they can provide fair, high quality services that offer real choice for patients, as well as best value for taxpayers.
DIPEx (personal experiences of health and illness) research group, based in the Department of Primary Health Care, University of Oxford. The group of 11 social science researchers conduct qualitative interview studies, throughout the UK, for a multimedia website (www.healthtalkonline.org) run by the DIPEx charity.
The Oxford Centre for Monitoring and Diagnosis in Primary Care is a research programme funded by the National Institute for Health Research based in the Department of Primary Health Care at the University of Oxford. The Centre improves monitoring and diagnostic techniques used in GP surgeries and other NHS primary care centres.
NIHR set up the School for Social Care Research to undertake primary research on adult social care sector in England. It covers the delivery of social care by professional and non-professional staff working in both statutory and independent sectors. It includes research by social care professionals as well as academics, and encourages the active involvement of service users and their carers. The aim of the School is to increase the evidence-base for adult social care practice.
The Primary Care Research Network's (PCRN) main goal is to increase the number of patients recruited or involved in clinical trials and other well designed primary care studies. The Network brings together a wide variety of primary care practitioners, including GPs, dentists, pharmacists and health visitors and offers patients in primary care settings unprecedented opportunities to become involved in high quality clinical studies involving innovations in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and health care delivery in the community.
Scotland was the first part of the UK to establish a School of Primary Care in 1999 as a means of building research capacity and capability. After its successful foundation phase within NHS Education for Scotland, it has now moved to within the University Sector as it responds to the need to undertake more trials and other methodologically rigorous research in primary care.
The aim of the Society is to promote excellence in research, education and policy development in general practice and primary health care.
The National Institute for Health Research is now established as a part of the Government's strategy, 'Best Research for Best Health'. Together we are committed to establishing the NHS as an internationally recognised centre of research excellence through supporting outstanding individuals, working in world-class facilities, conducting leading-edge research focused on the needs of patients and the public.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the academic organisation in the UK for general practitioners. Its aim is to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the 'voice' of general practitioners on education, training and standards issues.
The Royal College of Physicians is a registered charity that aims to ensure high quality care for patients by promoting the highest standards of medical practice. It provides and sets standards in clinical practice and education and training, conducts assessments and examinations, quality assures external audit programmes, supports doctors in their practice of medicine, and advises the Government, public and the profession on health care issues.
The Royal Society of Medicine is an independent, apolitical organisation, founded 200 years ago. They are one of the largest providers of continuing medical education in the UK.
The UK Clinical Research Network was established to support clinical research and to facilitate the conduct of trials and other well-designed studies across the UK. As part of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, it works towards the development of a world class infrastructure to support clinical research in the UK
Research Partnership to Tackle Primary Healthcare Challenges. The Universities of Cardiff, Swansea, Glamorgan and Bangor have formed a partnership - the Wales School for Primary Care Research - to provide relevant research to ensure high quality primary care is delivered in Nursing, Optometry, Pharmacy and General Practice. It develops and shares excellence in primary care research and works with professionals across relevant disciplines.
A framework for health researchers which identifies areas where sensible research design can reduce waste without adversely impacting on the validity and reliability of research.