NHS Research Capability Programme Workshops

19 February 2008

Three workshops about the new NHS Research Capability Programme will be held in March. The workshops will explore how the NHS Care Records Service can provide England with unique and unrivalled opportunities for health research, with the potential to deliver huge benefits for patients.

The NHS Care Records Service will electronically link patient information from different parts of the NHS in a secure manner, so that authorised NHS staff and patients have the information they need to make care decisions. Introduction of the Service is underway in the NHS in England, and will continue over the next few years.

‘Cradle-to-grave’ electronic patient records offer researchers the chance to study the complete patient journey. Those attending the workshops will have the opportunity to discuss how the Research Capability Programme could benefit public health by tracking diseases over long periods of time and by assessing the impact, safety and long-term effectiveness of different treatment options.

The events will be particularly relevant for health researchers and clinicians interested in using electronic records for health research, and those working in the pharmacovigilance field in industry.

The workshops are being run by NHS Connecting for Health, which is supporting the NHS to deliver the Care Records Service as part of the National Programme for IT. They will take place on the following dates:

4 March 2008, NEC, Birmingham. Chaired by Professor Ian Diamond.

11 March 2008, Mary Ward House, London. Chaired by Professor Ian Diamond.

17 March 2008, Leeds University, Leeds. Chaired by Professor Sir Alex Markham.

Further information

To book a place, please complete the booking form and fax it to +44 (0) 113 241 6541 or email it to nhscfh.events@nhs.net. To register online, please follow these links to the appropriate websites for the Birmingham, London or Leeds workshops.

The Research Capability Programme takes forward the recommendations of the UKCRC Advisory Group for Connecting for Health. For further information on the Research Capability Programme, please see:

www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/systemsandservices/research