Volume 1

Medical research and the NHS reforms / House of Lords, Select Committee on Science and Technology.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. Science and Technology Committee.
Date:
1995
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Medical research and the NHS reforms / House of Lords, Select Committee on Science and Technology. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    1.21 STRATEGIC INITIATIVES Strategic health service functions Primary health care services in London Skill mix Policy on mental health services Community health services Information technology Effectiveness of purchasing models Prescribing Public and environmental health Variations in health status Nutrition Environment: air pollution, skin cancer Individual unhealthy behaviour Vaccines Personal social services Research for Health 1993 and the Forward Look 1994 reported the following (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) A new Concordat between the health departments and the MRC came into effect in January 1992. This covers the voice of the departments in setting MRC priorities and vice versa, and NHS support for MRC clinical research. The Department of Health formed a strategic alliance with the ESRC in 1993, covering priority-setting, joint funding and research training. The health departments signed a Concordat with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on 30 January 1995 (DH Press Release 95/45), and expect to sign another with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) later this year. The Cardiovascular and Stroke Research Liaison Committee (British Heart Foundation, Wellcome Trust, MRC, Stroke Association, Department of Health, Scottish Office) was convened in 1991. Two new Research Liaison Committees have since been formed: Respiratory, and Biomedical Technologies. The UK Co-ordinating Committee for Cancer Research predates the Strategy. These Committees seek to avert gaps or duplication in research programmes, and facilitate joint planning and collaboration. The NHS-Industry Research Advisory Group was established in 1993 (on advice from the Biomedical Technologies RLC), to advise on issues such as LINK, intellectual property rights (IPR) and technology transfer, relations with the NHS Supplies Authority, and access to the NHS for industrial R&D. Collaboration with other Government departments is developing; in particular with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) over nutrition, the Department of the Environment (DoE) over housing for the elderly, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) over LINK (including MEDLINK - see Appendix 14) and EUREKA, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) over radiation.