Plan set to transform health research

The Minister for Health and Children has sanctioned a new strategy that should transform health research in the State. The proposals will cost £150 million up to the end of 2006 and create a new research role directly within the health services.

They will transform the work done by the existing Health Research Board, which developed the new strategy during a two-year consultation process. Mr Martin, announcing the proposals, also indicated yesterday, that the strategy was a "vital building block" for the new National Health Strategy to be announced next month by his Department.

The document, "Making Knowledge Work for Health - A Strategy for Health Research", proposes a much more co-ordinated and intensive method for carrying out health research. The HRB proposals were agreed at Cabinet in June, Mr Martin said, and initial funding had been sanctioned by the Department of Finance.

It will mean an extra £90 million for health research on top of the existing £13 million currently budgeted annually to the HRB, Mr Martin said. The extra funding would begin to come on stream in 2002.

The board would distribute about £50 million of the additional funding under its existing programme of support for health research. This provides individual researchers with project funding in the broad area of health and medical research.

A radical departure in the proposals calls for the creation of a second "research pillar", directly within the health services. This will cost about £40 million through 2006, Mr Martin said.

It involves the appointment of a "research and development officer" in the Department of Health and Children to co-ordinate research activities within the health services. Each health board will also have its own research and development officer to promote research activity at local level within hospitals and health board units.

The proposals also call for the creation of a Forum for Health and Social Care Research to advise on research agendas appropriate to the "objectives of the health service".

The new national strategy was virtually completed and would be released in early October, Mr Martin said.

He also commented on plans for the introduction of a "unique patient identifier" number under the related National Health Information Strategy. He acknowledged that "there were going to be difficulties there" related to data protection and patient privacy and confidentiality.

There were great benefits available from it however in studying medical treatment outcomes and it was "critical" that suitable arrangements be made to bring the patient identifier into use.

"What is critical is that a research director within the Department is appointed as quickly as possible," Mr Martin said. The post would be filled by early next year.

He also said that the Government's continued investment in research showed this was a "core" element of its plans for a knowledge-based economy and not just an "add on".

The chairman of the HRB, Prof Michael Murphy, said that the proposals would transform medical research from the "Cinderella of the health services" to a central activity. It was the first time that the Government had "recognised the importance of research in building a worldclass health service and the link between high-quality research and the achievement of health and social gain".