The Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust is setting up a new research institute for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (AHPs) thanks to £3.2m in funding from the Trust’s charity.
The newly-announced grant means people in NHS professions from nursing to podiatry will have more opportunities to get involved in academic research – and the Trust said this would, it hopes, help the city remain “at the forefront of global healthcare innovation”.
Maurya Cushlow – Newcastle Hospitals’ executive chief nurse – said: “This incredibly generous grant is fantastic news and will help us drive forward our innovative vision to introduce a unique Research Institute, harnessing the potential of our growing research active community.”
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She said the new institute would give staff “access to targeted support, relevant expertise and dedicated funding” to enable them to pursue their research ambitions.
Jill Baker, chair of Newcastle Hospitals Charity, said: “This grant will open the door for a huge number of our NMAHPs to benefit from and contribute to a wide range of patient-focused research initiatives, the effects of which will be felt locally, nationally, and globally for years to come.”
Last November England’s chief nursing officer Ruth May launched the “Making Research Matter” plan which sets out the ambition to use nursing research to “drive change”.
AHPs include people like paramedics or physios. At the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, Linda Tinkler is in charge of encouraging research among nurses, midwives and AHPs.
She said the funding would help the work already in place to help staff carry out the research they wanted, adding: “This much welcomed investment is a true demonstration of the commitment to this agenda and will enable us to support so many nurses, midwives and AHPs to make their ambitions a reality.”