£25m NIHR funding to tackle health and social care issues
31st August 2023
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has awarded King’s College London £25m to tackle important long-standing and emerging health and social care issues.
The award is part of an £100 million funding boost to 20 new Policy Research Units (PRUs) across England, funded by the NIHR’s Policy Research Programme. It includes a new PRU for palliative and end of life care at the Cicely Saunders Institute.
Each unit will bring together a multidisciplinary team of researchers to create a critical mass of leading experts with the ability to work dynamically with policy teams to address key research questions. The PRU researchers will respond to policy research needs and develop research programmes that provide evidence for current and emerging research priorities.
Professor Katherine Sleeman, who was awarded £3m to lead the PRU for palliative and end of life care, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded an NIHR Policy Research Unit for palliative and end of life care. Our Policy Research Unit will support policy makers to improve care, and reduce inequalities, for children and adults affected by life-limiting illnesses, and their families and carers. Too many people die without having received the care and support they need to live as well as possible until the end of life. We hope our Policy Research Unit will catalyse a step-change in care for those affected by dying, death and bereavement.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Advisor DHSC and Chief Executive of NIHR, said: “In the NIHR, we have a range of ways to make sure that health and care research benefits patients and the public. The NIHR’s new Policy Research Units are designed to provide strong evaluation of policy. This helps government and related organisations to be able to act on the latest evidence when making decisions about health and social care that could impact us all.
“We are funding Policy Research Units across a range of key areas of policy ranging from cancer screening to social care. Several new topics will expand the ability of the units to help address the major healthcare challenges that we are facing, including improving reproductive health, tackling addiction as well as dementia and neurodegeneration.”