A new NHS network in England’s South West aims to speed commercial health research, giving industry a single route to run studies across local NHS services.
The South West Commercial Research Group, the first network of its kind in the region, brings together GP practices, mental health services, acute hospitals and community care to streamline study set-up and trial delivery.
It plans to offer end-to-end trial delivery, rapid feasibility and access to a commercially experienced workforce. Feasibility is an early check on whether a study can run at a site within the required timelines. The group says this could widen local participation in studies and improve access to new treatments and technologies.
The partnership is made up of eight NHS organisations, including Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Devon Partnership NHS Trust, the Bristol NHS Group and five Devon-based GP practices.
Partners said their combined experience covers regulated medical devices, medicines, surgical procedures, mental health interventions, acute and community care, and nutrition trials.
They said the collaborative model is designed to reduce fragmentation, improve coordination and help commercial sponsors connect with the right NHS services more efficiently.
By simplifying processes and offering one coordinated route into the NHS, the group said it aims to speed up commercial study set-up, make it easier for companies to work with multiple NHS providers, increase trial capacity across the South West and support economic growth by positioning the region as a destination for life sciences investment.
Research and development director Professor Helen Quinn said: “Patients treated in NHS organisations where research takes place are known to have better health outcomes, and commercial research increases opportunities to reinvest in local NHS services while accelerating new treatments and therapies into routine care. Combining our experience and resources across NHS organisations is a powerful way to increase our research capacity. This means we are able to open more research studies that matter most to our local population. This will greatly benefit our region, and I’m excited to see this develop in the coming years.”
Health leaders said the initiative will improve opportunities to join research studies and access new treatments earlier, while strengthening the region’s role in the UK’s commercial research ecosystem.
They added the launch is a step towards a more joined-up, agile and industry-ready NHS research environment across the South West.
