MORE than £11 million has been awarded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to NHS organisations in the North West to pay for cutting-edge research equipment and technology. 

The investment is part of over £96 million awarded to 93 NHS organisations across England. The funding will drive research and innovation to enable scientific discoveries and new technologies to improve the prevention, management and treatment of disease. It will pay for a range of innovative equipment, including imaging devices, mobile research vehicles, ultrasound equipment, and specialist fridges and freezers that are essential for storing samples used in research. 
 

The investment is focused in areas outside the Greater South-East - with a particular emphasis on smaller regional NHS Trusts. More than a 5th of the funding - over £20m - is being invested in these smaller Trusts to support the expansion of research into primary care and mobile research units, allowing the NHS to boost its delivery of research in the community and in rural areas. 
 

This funding call will be the 1st of a series of NIHR calls for capital investment, with an emphasis on extending the reach of research into communities to improve access to cutting-edge clinical trials.
 

The 93 organisations awarded funding are all part of the NIHR’s wider infrastructure, which includes Biomedical Research Centres and Clinical Research Facilities, as well as the NIHR’s Clinical Research Network. 
 

As well as supporting the NIHR’s cutting-edge research, the awarded £96,271,285 will enhance the ability of the successful organisations to leverage additional funding from research funders, including commercial companies. In turn, this will reaffirm the UK’s position as one of the most attractive places in the world for innovative companies to invest in research. 

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:- “From Devon to Liverpool, we're giving NHS organisations over £96 million to bolster vital health and care research. Scientists and medical experts will be able to purchase cutting-edge equipment, like mobile CT scanners, imaging devices and ultrasound equipment to help their ground breaking work in the prevention, treatment and management of disease. The NHS and its staff have now served us for nearly 75 years and as we celebrate that achievement we want to make sure the health service is leading the way. This investment will also help the NHS continue to cut waiting lists – 1 of the government’s top 5 priorities.”

Boosting research in the North West

5 NHS Trusts in the North West will be using the funding to invest in a variety of equipment to boost research. They will also distribute funds to other NHS organisations in the area, including selected NIHR Local Clinical Research Networks. Funded equipment includes MRI scanners, ECG machines, lab equipment including specialist freezers and cell analysis machines, and blood analysis technology.  

NHS Trusts in the North West awarded funding:-

• Alder Hey Children's NHS Trust

• NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System

• Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust