HM Government

The Department of Health has announced that 33 research units and groups will receive over £120 million funding for global health research. It comes after an open research competition led by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Following the success of this initial competition, a call for a second round of applications has also been launched today, funded by £40 million from the Department of Health Official Developmental Assistance (ODA) budget.

The aim of this research is to improve the health of patients and public in low and middle-income countries. Such research is vital to protect the UK at home. Disease knows no borders, and we are continually under threat from poorly understood infections and antimicrobial resistance.

Good health is a global endeavour and the UK is a leader in this area of research and innovation.

The selected 33 successful NIHR global health research units and groups include:

• The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in collaboration with India, The Phillipines, Colombia and Nigeria – to provide global surveillance data for bacterial pathogens through whole genome sequencing, to inform public health policy, and providing resourcing and training for local capacity

• University of Dundee with India – a large scale clinical partnership between Scotland and India to combat diabetes through genetic epidemiology and pharmacogenetics

• Swansea University with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Senegal, Ghana, India, Syria, West Bank – to develop effective and deliverable solutions to improve services and outcomes for patients in the treatment and prevention of burn injuries in conflict

• University College London with Malawi, Mali, Gambia, Kenya, West Bank and South Africa – Mucosal Pathogens Research Unit addressing pneumonia, meningitis and neonatal sepsis, addressing limitations in the long-term effectiveness of existing vaccines

Health Minister Lord O’Shaughnessy said:

This funding allows our universities to strengthen their research and expertise as leaders in global health research.

The UK will continue to be at the forefront of health knowledge, and it is only right that we support other nations as they improve care for patients and public.

A full list of successful projects from the first wave of funding are shown in the table below.

Details about the new call for applications

For the second wave of funding, awards of up to £2 million over 3 years are available for additional global health research groups.

The NIHR are keen to see proposals from world-leading academic groups in the UK that wish to expand into the field of global health working in partnership with researchers in developing countries. Applications close 20 October 2017.

For more information please see the NIHR website

Full list of successful projects from first wave of funding

Title	Host institution	Brief summary of work
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Tackling Infections to Benefit Africa, The University of Edinburgh	The University of Edinburgh	Our vision is to harness the combined resources of the University of Edinburgh and 9 African partners to reduce the burden of infectious diseases by strengthening health systems
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Neglected Tropical Diseases, BSMS	University of Sussex	A Sussex-based partnership that undertakes world class interdisciplinary research on neglected tropical diseases in African countries and rapidly translates this research into benefits for patients, families and communities
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in South Asians, Imperial College London	Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine	We will translate scientific discoveries and technological innovations into sustainable improvements in healthcare, to deliver improved prevention and better treatment of both diabetes and heart disease, amongst people from South Asia
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Health in Situations of Fragility	Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh	The unit identifies sources of resilience within formal health systems and local community processes to facilitate effective provision for health priorities – particularly mental health and non-communicable disease – in situations of fragility
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery, University of Birmingham	University of Birmingham	The NIHR Unit on Global Surgery will develop global surgical research, relevant to low and middle-income countries, by establishing sustainable international research hubs and delivering practice changing research for better patient outcomes
NIHR Global Health Research Unit Action on Salt China (ASC), Queen Mary University of London	Queen Mary University of London	ASC is a NIHR-funded unit for salt reduction in China through research and public health programmes led by the Wolfson Institute, QMUL, UK and The George Institute China
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Genomic Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute	Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute	Establishing expertise and local research capacity in the use of whole genome sequencing in low and middle income countries to provide intelligent global surveillance of microbial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Lung health and Tuberculosis Research in Africa, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine	Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine	Our NIHR unit aims to improve the health of children and adults in Africa through multi-disciplinary applied health research on lung health and tuberculosis
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Health System Strengthening in Sub-Saharan Africa, King’s College London	King’s College London	The King’s College London NIHR unit on Health System Strengthening in Sub-Saharan Africa will work across primary care, maternal and surgical care platforms, developing, adapting and evaluating health system strengthening interventions to enhance the processes and outcomes of evidence based care
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Diabetes Outcomes Research, University of Dundee	University of Dundee	This unit is a large scale Scotland/India Clinical Partnership using innovative big data and mobile technologies to provide low cost personalized medicine to combat ill health associated with diabetes
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Improving Health in Slums, The University of Warwick	University of Warwick	The NIHR unit is focused improving the health and welfare of people who live in slums across Africa and South Asia
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Mucosal Pathogens (MPRU), University College London	University College London	The MPRU is a UK and lower and middle-income country (LMIC) partnership that aims to prevent mucosal pathogens causing pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis in young children
NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health (RESPIRE), The University of Edinburgh	The University of Edinburgh	The NIHR unit on Global Respiratory Health will work to improve respiratory outcomes from common respiratory communicable and non-communicable disorders in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Pakistan

NIHR global health research groups

Title	Host institution	Brief summary of work
NIHR Global Health Research Group on African Snakebite Research, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine	Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine	This project will establish self-sustaining regional hubs of snakebite expertise to support national and regional authorities design and implement systems to reduce snakebite deaths and disability
NIHR Global Health Research Group on prevention and management of non-communicable diseases and HIV-infection in Africa, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine	Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine	Our research group will evaluate integrated prevention and management of chronic conditions in Africa, focusing on HIV-infection, diabetes and hypertension, and on research that is relevant for policy and practice
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Improving Stroke Care, University of Central Lancashire	University of Central Lancashire	Our multi professional research group brings together researchers from the UK, India and Australia with expertise and interest in the addressing the Global Health Challenge of stroke
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Early Childhood Development for Peacebuilding, Queen’s University of Belfast	The Queen’s University of Belfast	This group supports the development and rigorous evaluation of early childhood development programmes to contribute to sustainable development and peacebuilding in lower and middle income countries affected by conflict
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Nepal Injury Research, University of the West of England	Bristol University of the West of England	Preventing injuries, making communities safer and improving injury outcomes in Nepal through collaborative research, surveillance, innovation, training, capacity building and policy development
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Neurotrauma, University of Cambridge	University of Cambridge / Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	The NIHR Group on Global Neurotrauma is a multi-institutional consortium of partners from LMICs and HICs with a mission to advance global neurotrauma care and research in order to save lives, reduce disability and improve the quality of life for patients with traumatic brain injury
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Global COPD in Primary Care, University of Birmingham	University of Birmingham	Fostering research in primary care and the community to improve the diagnosis, management and prognosis of COPD patients in low and middle income countries
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Social Policy and Health Inequalities led by the University of Glasgow	The University Court of the University of Glasgow	We are working to improve population health in Brazil by studying the social determinants of health and to further our understanding of how social policy may reduce health inequalities globally
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Burn Trauma, Swansea University	Swansea University	A unique collaboration between university and international NGO that will work towards transforming the standard of burn care and prevention in some of the poorest regions of the world using a systems based approach backed by implementation science
NIHR Global Health Research Group on warfarin anticoagulation in patients with cardiovascular disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, University of Liverpool	University of Liverpool	Anticoagulation with warfarin is an important area of unmet medical need. Our group aims to improve anticoagulation by developing dosing algorithms, and further improve anticoagulation quality by using novel technological advances
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Global Surgical Technologies, University of Leeds	University of Leeds	The NIHR Group on Global Surgical Technologies will identify areas of surgical need in India and Sierra Leone and develop and evaluate new technological solutions
NIHR Global Health Research Group on POsT Conflict Trauma; PrOTeCT, Imperial College London	Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine	As a result of this funding, the group will be enabled to improve the health and wellbeing of civilians afflicted by blast injuries, significantly reduce the socio-economic burden of explosive remnants of war in the developing world, develop a research and innovation hub for orthopaedic, trauma and biomaterials researchers, engineers and clinicians and advance the UK’s understanding of biomaterials and orthopaedic technology
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Psychosis Outcomes: the Warwick¬India-Canada (WIC) Network, The University of Warwick	University of Warwick	The NIHR Group on Psychosis Outcomes: Warwick-India-Canada (WIC) Network is a group of international experts in global mental health who aim improve outcomes of psychotic disorders in India, harnessing the potential of digital and mobile technologies
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Evidence to Policy pathway to Immunisation in China (NIHR EPIC), London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine	London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine	We conduct applied vaccine research to help decision makers in China build a vaccination programme that ensures reliable, affordable, equitable and uninterrupted supply of vaccines to the Chinese population
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Stillbirth Prevention and Management in Sub-Saharan Africa, The University of Manchester	The University of Manchester	The University of Manchester, in partnership with the Lugina Africa Midwives Research Network, will undertake high quality research on the prevention and management of stillbirth in sub-Saharan Africa
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Road Safety, University of Southampton	University of Southampton	The goal of our NIHR Group on Global Road Safety is to reduce the number and severity of road accidents in Low-Middle Income Countries through our underpinning philosophy of local solutions for local problems
NIHR Global Health Group on Dementia Prevention and Enhanced Care (DePEC), Newcastle University	Newcastle University	Dementia, a global health priority, has a disproportionately large impact in low and middle income countries (LMICs). In the absence of a cure, and without a future risk reduction strategy and efficient, feasible post-diagnostic care, dementia will have a devastating societal and economic effect in LMICs. We will bring together expertise in public health and primary care with global epidemiological research (large LMIC dementia research collaboration, 10/66 Study), to create a NIHR Global Health Research Group on Dementia Prevention and Enhanced Care (DePEC)
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Global Health Econometrics and Economics (GHE2), University of York	The University of York	GHE2 will address the evidence gap in population- and health system-level interventions by applying and developing methods to (1) estimate their average and distributional impact and (2) assess their value-for-money
NIHR Global Health Research Group on developing psycho-social interventions for mental health care, Bart’s and The London School of Medicine & Dentistry	Barts & The London Queen Mary’s School of Medicine & Dentistry	In collaboration with partners in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia and Uganda, our group will develop psycho-social interventions for people with severe mental illnesses, utilising existing resources in communities
NIHR Global Health Research Group on Diet and Activity Research at MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge	MRC Epidemiology Unit	The goal of the NIHR group on Global Diet and Activity Research (GDAR) is to understand the determinants of population levels of diet and activity behaviour in low and middle income countries and to evaluate population-level interventions aimed at changing these behaviours in order to reduce risk of non-communicable disease

read more

Charities can sign up for a range of free and low cost training opportunities through our small charities fundraising training programme.

read more

The Department for Communities and Local Government has written to all building control bodies in England highlighting key Building Regulations requirements when cladding work on high rise buildings over 18 metres tall is undertaken.

This followed advice from the Independent Expert Advisory Panel whose members were particularly concerned that further risks are not created in any new works undertaken by building owners.

At their third meeting the Independent Expert Advisory Panel recommended that it would be wise to draw attention to the need to ensure that any recladding work complies with all relevant Building Regulations’ requirements. In particular requirements on structural safety, resistance to moisture penetration and build up, and energy efficiency need to be considered – as well as ensuring that the fire safety requirements are met.

Building control bodies are responsible for checking that work complies with Building Regulations’ requirements. It is the responsibility of those carrying out the work to ensure that the provisions of the regulations are fully met.

The advice from the Department has been sent to all building control bodies in England including local authorities building control departments and private sector Approved Inspectors. It sets out the Department’s view that if building owners consider that they need to re-clad their building, for example following the results of recent screening for identification of the type of ACM cladding in use, this should be considered as building work and therefore subject to Building Regulations’ requirements.

The letter particularly draws the attention of building control bodies to the following:

• Approaches to demonstrating compliance with fire safety requirements, for example ensuring that cladding and insulation used are of limited combustibility or that a whole wall cladding system BS 8414 test is undertaken. The British Standard 8414 requires that a wall with a complete cladding system – including panels and insulation – fixed to it, is then subject it to a fire that replicates a severe fire in a flat breaking out of a window and whether it then spread up the outside wall.

• Where panels are removed for inspection or testing purposes, the integrity of the whole cladding system needs to be maintained.

• The structural design of any replacement cladding needs to be checked – it should not be assumed that existing fixings and systems are suitable for replacement systems.

• The need to ensure that replacement cladding systems or components protect the building adequately from rain and condensation.

• Guidance on how to meet energy efficiency requirements when recladding.

Read the letter to building control bodies on recladding of tall buildings

read more

• Justice Minister Dr Phillip Lee thanks staff at Foston Hall prison for their ‘vital work’ in helping to deliver major prison reforms
• Part of the commitment to make prisons places of self-discipline, hard work and reform to reduce reoffending and keep the public safe
• Foston Hall has recently recruited 4 new officers, with 4 more currently in training
• The visit follows £100m investment in 2,500 extra officers across the prison estate

Justice Minister Dr Phillip Lee today visited Foston Hall women’s prison in Derbyshire, where he met frontline staff to hear first-hand about the support they provide to vulnerable women in their care.

The minister sat down with governor Andrea Black and spoke to staff from various roles, to hear about the daily challenges they face supporting prisoners and how the wholescale reforms to the prison system will help to reduce reoffending and improve outcomes for women in custody.

Foston Hall has recently recruited 4 new officers with 4 more currently in training and due to begin work in the coming months. The prison continues to look for ambitious applicants from all backgrounds.

The visit comes as part of a tour of prisons, with the minister hearing from dedicated healthcare staff, who provide specialist support for some of the most vulnerable women, many of whom have suffered abuse and have mental health problems.

As a local resettlement prison, Foston Hall offers vocational training for prisoners in areas such as textiles, retail and horticultural studies – helping prepare them to lead a life without crime by providing the relevant skills for a career on release. Many of the staff at the prison are from the local area and have close links to the community and work hard to reintegrate released prisoners into the area by working closely with local support services.

Foston Hall also has a dedicated unit for vulnerable women, and staff at the prison have benefited from specialist trauma-informed training. This helps them develop a greater understanding of the behaviours that lead to offending – enhancing safety and security across the estate. Staff are also committed to maintaining family engagement and improving family ties for prisoners.

The government has been clear in its commitment to building on the essential reforms to the prison system which are already under way, including providing specialist training for prison officers and supporting both offenders and ex-offenders in finding sustained employment and housing on release.

Justice Minister Dr Phillip Lee said:

Prison officers at Foston Hall do a challenging job and work with a range of vulnerable women who need intensive help and support.

I came here today to express my gratitude to the governor and her team for the vital work they are doing to support prisoners, which will help reduce reoffending, cut crime and lead to fewer victims.

We will continue to listen to them and all prison staff as we develop our strategy on female offenders and deliver on our important reforms to make prisons safe and cut reoffending.

The positive work from staff at Foston Hall represents the wholescale changes that are taking place across the prison system, following on from the launch of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) earlier this year, which will give governors more control and flexibility in reforming offenders and supporting them on release.

The launch of HMPPS follows last year’s White Paper on safety and reform, which announced 2,500 new prison officers and an additional £100 million investment across the estate, with new measures to get offenders off drugs and provide them with the education and skills they need to turn their backs on crime.

In addition to these wide-ranging reforms, we will be announcing our strategy for the way we manage female offenders later this year.

Notes to editors:

• This last year saw the highest level of new joiners (band 3-5 officers) since March 2010 and prison officer numbers have increased for the first time since March 2016.

The Ministry of Justice has:

• started targeted local recruitment initiatives at 30 sites so that governors can more easily recruit the people they need
• developed a new graduate scheme ‘Unlocked’ that will encourage people from a broader range of backgrounds to join the Service
• launched an armed forces to officers scheme that will support people to join the Prison Service after leaving the military
• introduced a pay increase for Band 3 Officers on Fair and Sustainable (F&S) terms at 31 difficult-to-recruit prisons
• prison officers have the opportunity to earn over £30,000 depending on location of prison and hours contract. Plus public sector pension and other benefits
• substantial investment in marketing and targeted recruitment to generate even more interest in these valuable roles

Visit https://www.prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/ to find out more.

read more

The government has announced new funding of up to £86 million for UK firms to develop medical breakthroughs.

The package will allow small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop and test new technologies in the NHS. This could include innovations such as digital technologies to help patients manage their conditions from home instead of a hospital, or to develop new medicines.

Access to this funding will also speed up the time it takes to get new technologies from the lab to patients in the NHS.

The announcement is the first step in taking forward the Accelerated Access Review (AAR) – an independently chaired review, which made recommendations to government on speeding up patient access to new technologies.

Technologies that have previously received support are already bringing benefits to patients. For example, MyCOPD is an online system that helps people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) better manage their condition. It has helped over 32,000 patients by helping them improve their breathing, manage flare-ups and track medicine use. This reduces reliance on GP and hospital appointments.

Health Minister Lord O’Shaughnessy said:

The government’s ambition is that NHS patients get world-leading, life-changing treatments as fast as possible.

That can’t happen unless we support medical innovation and tear down the barriers – like speed to market and access to funding – that can get in the way, especially for SMEs.

Our investment in innovation shows how much we value the UK life sciences sector.

The funding is split into 4 packages. These include:

• £39 million of funding to the Academic Health Science Networks (ASHNs), enabling them to assess the benefits of new technologies and support NHS uptake of those that deliver real benefits to patients according to the local need
• £35 million Digital Health Technology Catalyst for innovators – this will match-fund the development of digital technologies for use by patients and the NHS
• up to £6 million over the next 3 years to help SMEs with innovative medicines and devices get the evidence they need by testing in the real world, building on existing opportunities such as the Early Access to Medicine Scheme (EAMS)
• £6 million Pathway Transformation Fund, which will help NHS organisations integrate new technologies into everyday practices – this will help overcome more practical obstacles such as training staff on how to use new equipment

Business Minister Lord Prior said:

The government has an important role to play in driving innovation that will increase economic growth and support businesses across the country. Through this funding we will quicken the pace of scientific discovery and innovation in the UK. Our Industrial Strategy will boost our status a global hub for life sciences.

Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI) CEO Peter Ellingworth said:

ABHI welcomes the announcement as a further commitment to supporting the UK medical technology sector. These additional funding initiatives will complement work already in place on Innovation Tariff, NICE processes and horizon scanning as part of the overall Accelerated Access Review. The measures could significantly enhance the UK as a destination of choice for MedTech companies, in turn, benefiting patients, the health system and the wider economy.

Ben Moody, Head of Health and Social Care at techUK, said:

The UK is a world leader in health tech but we must not be complacent. The Digital Health Technology Catalyst will be a great boost for innovators in the sector.

The announcement also recognises that the resources needed to generate evidence to show that a technology is worth reimbursing can be prohibitively difficult for SMEs – so the fund to support evidence generation for innovative devices is particularly welcome.

British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA) Chief Executive, Doris-Ann Williams MBE, said:

BIVDA very much welcomes the government’s announcement about funding towards practical support for the introduction of new medical technologies into the NHS.

It is a constant source of frustration that implementation of new tests takes years to achieve. It means that not only are people not benefiting from improved diagnosis and disease management but also that the NHS is losing the chance to gain cost efficiencies along clinical pathways.

We would like to congratulate the Department of Health and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on pulling together these funding streams ahead of the Industrial Strategy to show practical support of their intent to foster healthy and vibrant Life Sciences industries in the UK.

read more