External Advisory Group praises CLAHRC West research

The independent External Advisory Group that scrutinises the quality and strategy of NIHR CLAHRC West’s research has given us excellent positive feedback following the meeting this summer. The panel is made up of three senior academics with an expertise in applied health research. It is chaired by Professor Peter Croft, of the University of Keele, and also includes CLAHRC Wessex Director Professor Anne Rogers and PenCLAHRC (CLAHRC South West Peninsula) Director Professor Stuart Logan.

The group met for the first time over 22 and 23 June 2016, and saw presentations on several of our projects, including:

• Alcohol toxicity during (and before) pregnancy
• Working with the Bristol Somali community to improve outcomes for children with autism
• Low versus high dead space syringes: user preferences and attitudes
• Evaluating a new digital solution for secondary mental health care
• Preventing post-operative urinary retention to improve outcomes and reduce costs
• Preliminary evaluation of the ‘Health Integration Team’ model

The panel also heard about our project call process and how we worked with patients and the public to allow their ideas to be submitted for consideration. The panel’s report states:

“We were asked to comment specifically on the quality of the research. What we have seen and read about is research of high quality, with a good breadth and clear applicability, and relevance to what is important for the benefit of patients and the public.

“We also found an organisation that is developing a real sense of identity and is well organised. A major success in our opinion has been the building of collaborative teams of researchers, with clear evidence of collegiality feeding into imaginative research and innovation and capacity building, to undertake complex and impactful programmes of work. This reflects on what we judge to be very high quality leadership from Professor Donovan and her board, and the strong relationships Professor Donovan has created with NHS, community and academic leadership in the CLAHRC West region.”

Download the full report.

CLAHRC West Director Jenny Donovan said:

“I feel incredibly proud of the work that the CLAHRC West staff have done so far. It was fantastic to see the teams of researchers showcase their work so powerfully. I know that the panel were very impressed with the presentations, and I want to thank everyone who made the day such a success.”

Chair of the panel Peter Croft said:

“It’s clear that CLAHRC West is producing some boundary redefining work, looking at things like patient and public involvement in new ways, and challenging accepted clinical dogma. We on the panel had a very stimulating day watching the presentations, and I think we all came away very energised by what we saw.”