NIHR CLAHRC West

On 1 October 2019, NIHR CLAHRC West became ARC West. There were 13 CLAHRCs covering most regions in England. With the first ARC programme (2019-2026), every region in England had an ARC.

Read ‘The legacy of the CLAHRCs 2014-19 – 5 years of NIHR-funded applied health research’ (PDF) which compiles key research projects from the NIHR CLAHRCs.

What did CLAHRC West do?

Like ARC West, CLAHRC West did applied research projects with collaborators. Applied research aims to address the immediate issues facing the health and social care system.

The CLAHRC team worked on diverse projects including:

• evaluating patient safety tools including National Early Warning Scores and the Emergency Department checklist with the West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN)
• evaluating the roll out of an intervention to reduce cerebral palsy in premature babies with the West of England Academic AHSN
• exploring the experiences of Somali families affected by autism
• creating harm reduction materials with people who inject drugs
• improving how healthcare professionals, including pharmacists and sexual health professionals, respond to signs of domestic violence and abuse

For an idea of what these projects were like, see some of the highlights from CLAHRC West’s applied research projects from its five year lifespan.

CLAHRC West was hosted by University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UH Bristol). Following a merger of two hospital trusts, ARC West is hosted by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. The CLAHRC brought together universities, local authorities, NHS trusts, clinical commissioning groups, voluntary sector and community organisations in the West of England, alongside patients and members of the public, to focus on improving health and care for local people.

Find out more on the NIHR website.