North West Region to receive £59 million investment boost

PATIENTS in the North West are set to benefit from innovative new treatments and improved delivery of health and care services following significant funding to support ground-breaking experimental medicine research and advance the UK's response to patient safety challenges.

On Friday, 14 October 2022, the Government has announced that over £59 million of funding, allocated by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), will go to support specialist research facilities bringing together scientists across the North West to create an environment where experimental medicine and patient safety research can thrive.

This forms part of an £800 million funding boost to the country's research infrastructure, seeing further investment in scientific expertise which supports access to innovative technology and novel research projects. As well as this, it will improve Regional economic growth through employment opportunities, giving private sector organisations confidence to continue to invest in research across the country.

Nearly £790 million has been awarded to 20 NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) across England; including a new centre in Exeter; over the next 5 years to drive innovation in the diagnosis and treatment of illness across a variety of high priority disease areas including:- cancer, mental health and dementia.

£59 million has been awarded to the NIHR Manchester BRC, in the North West...  Previous research studies carried out by the Manchester BRC have resulted direct health benefits for patients, including supporting on the creation of a Rapid Response Research Group during the Pandemic which was vital to the Region's research response working across organisations to prioritise areas that would have an immediate impact. In addition, £25 million over the next 5 years has been awarded to 6 NIHR Patient Safety Research Centres (PSRCs) across the country to help improve understanding and resolution of patient safety challenges. The funding will support research to improve incident reporting and investigations, digital innovations to improve patient safety and harness learning from service adaptation during the Covid Pandemic.

Funding for BRCs and PSRCs will be distributed across the country, with over £260 million being invested outside of London, Oxford and Cambridge. This will increase the coverage of experimental medicine across England and exceed the Government's previous commitments in the Levelling Up White Paper. Not only will this enable more areas to benefit from innovation and facilitate faster uptake where research takes place, it will help to improve health and care services across the country and reduce health inequalities by better understanding and treating illness and improving the delivery of care.

Health and Social Care Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Thérèse Coffey said:- "The Pandemic has highlighted the importance of our booming research sector and the potential it has to not only strengthen health and care services, but lead to lifesaving developments. This additional funding will harness the UK's world leading innovation and allow research centres up and down the country to attract experts in their field and conduct research that saves lives. From helping develop the Covid Vaccine to discovering world-first treatments, these centres have already delivered ground breaking research and will continue to help us tackle some of the biggest health challenges we face, including cancer, to ensure the NHS continues to deliver world class care."

Over the past 9 years, the NIHR BRCs have supported almost 60,000 experimental medicine research studies. These have resulted in direct health benefits for patients, including progressing innovative and faster diagnosis, as well as:-

► The development of the Oxford AstraZeneca (AZ) Vaccine; the world's 1st approved Vaccine; and support for the RECOVERY Trial; the world's largest trial of potential treatments for Covid.

► A promising new treatment for motor neurone disease which has been shown to be safe, well tolerated and could help slow the progression of symptoms in people with a genetic form of this disease.

► Novel gene therapy which has the potential to be a ground breaking cure for patients with haemophilia; a genetic defect that affects their body's ability to stop bleeding.

► A study that supports lower exposure to radiotherapy for women with breast cancer which reduces the damage to healthy tissue in the body and minimises subsequent side effects.

Over the last 9 years, the current NIHR PSRCs have supported over 800 patient safety research studies. They have driven improvements in the safety of health and care services, for example:-

► Use of artificial intelligence in detecting breast cancer from mammogram images.

► Reducing medication errors in primary care settings.

► Development of patient safety culture improvement programmes in NHS Hospitals.

► Development of guidance for the involvement of patients and families in serious incident investigations.

Minister of State for Health, Robert Jenrick, said:- "Clinical research has been vital in our fight against Covid and the UK's innovation is enabling us to transform our health service and ensure it is firmly at the cutting edge of health and care. Our NIHR clinical research infrastructure provides crucial access to expertise in designing and delivering high quality, innovative research for the life sciences industry. This supports companies to conduct their clinical studies of new treatments in the UK for patient and public benefit and grows the UK's share of the global market. We're continuing to build on our world leading advances to find new treatments and better diagnose illness as well as better understand how we can improve patient safety."

Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Executive of the NIHR said:- "This huge investment into early stage health and care research and patient safety innovation recognises the strength of expertise in these areas across the country, and gives our best researchers more opportunities to improve care and treatment for patients nationwide. These investments showcase our scientific excellence, ensuring that the UK benefits from the latest innovations and advancements in research and enables a strong and competitive research workforce to be further developed. They are crucial to ensuring that patients receive the highest quality, safest care."

Investing in the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and Patient Safety Research Collaborations will contribute to increased economic growth and build a healthier, more resilient nation.

More broadly, these centres will strengthen the resources and facilities for research across the NHS through access to experts at the forefront of their fields. A key feature of the centres is the collaboration between academics, clinicians, patients and life sciences industry.

The Patient Safety Research Collaborations will support the NHS to improve patient safety and reduce health inequalities, while the Biomedical Research Centres will help boost advancements in medical treatments and technology and advance our ability to diagnose and treat illness.
 

The 1p heat hack for keeping warm this Autumn

A 3rd of the nation is missing out on a humble heat hack this autumn, simply because they are mistaken about the cost Using an electric blanket during the colder months can save hundreds of pounds, yet 32% are missing out as they believe they are expensive to run, when in fact they cost just 1 penny to heat your entire bed.

The new data, from sleep experts Silentnight, has uncovered just how concerned the nation is about their bills, with the research revealing that 84% are concerned about the cost of their energy bills and 73% are concerned about feeding themselves and their families this autumn.

As the weather has recently turned, heating our homes this autumn is on many people's minds with 71% saying that they will be using alternative methods to heat themselves this autumn aside from putting on the heating.

It seems the nation has plenty of tricks up its sleeve for keeping warm this winter, with the top 20 listed below, however some of these hacks may be false savings in disguise.

1. Wearing more layers.

2. Using a throw to keep warm.

3. Using a hot water bottle to keep warm.

4. Swapping out bedding for a higher tog.

5. Closing doors to rooms you are not using so the heating does not need to work as hard.

6. Using an electric blanket to warm the bed.

7. Closing blinds/curtains when it goes dark.

8. Making sure all windows/ doors are fully closed / not on the latch.

9. Using a timer on the thermostat.

10. Getting in bed earlier to keep warm under the duvet.

11. Using draft excluders.

12. Putting on the fire.

13. Investing in high quality insulation.

14. Wearing a hat and socks around the house to keep warm.

15. Using an electric heater rather than putting on the central heating.

16. Getting rid of radiator covers.

17. Keeping the oven door open after use to heat the kitchen.

18. Making lots of hot drinks to keep warm.

19. Using a hair dryer to heat the bed.

20. Moving your sofa away from the radiator so it is not blocking the heat.

While it's good to see the nation getting creative, not all the above will save money in the long run, which is why the experts at Silentnight have debunked some of these hacks.

Sally Bonser, Silentnight spokesperson, said:- "It's no surprise that so many of us are looking for alternative ways to heat our homes this autumn, however it's concerning to see some of the methods people are turning to as they could actually cost them more in the long run. Turning on the fire or using electric appliances like kettles for making plenty of hot drinks, or hair dryers to heat the bed can be costly in the long run, whereas using an electric blanket costs just 1p to heat your entire bed. A lot of people also mistakenly think electric blankets can be unsafe, but Silentnight's electric blankets are approved by BEAB and have a sleep safe guarantee. They are also machine washable due to their detachable controllers. The bedroom is often 1 of the hardest rooms in the house to heat, as they are likely to have external walls and aren't used much throughout the day, so it's important people know the different ways to keep warm at night without the temptation to turn up that heating."

The new figures have also shown that 39% have succumbed to the love / hate hack of wearing more layers, such as oversized hoodies or wearable blankets, in a bid to stay warm. Alongside this, there are plenty of other methods for retaining heat this autumn which is why Silentnight has worked with consumer expert, Alice Beer, to share top tips for keeping warm on a budget.

Alice, said:- "The reality is that this winter, heating your home, however well insulated, is going to be unaffordable for many. To stay warm and well when the cold weather hits, people should focus on heating themselves rather than their homes. I'm pleased to have worked with Silentnight on a guide for people to keep warm on a budget this autumn. 1 of my favourite tips in the guide is to heat yourself, and your immediate surroundings rather than the entire house, as that way you won't need to turn the heating up. Things like electric blankets or heated throws are perfect for this as they cost just pennies to run and keep you nice and toasty. I would really encourage people to check out my full guide for some great tips this autumn."

To see Silentnight's full guide in partnership with Alice Beer, head to:- SleepyPeople.Com. To see Silentnight's range of heat saving products, head to:- SleepyPeople.Com/Winter-Warmers.