Health research is essential to tackle the increasing challenge that disease and ill health place on our society.  For the NHS and for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, health research is essential to improve our knowledge of health care and disease and to advance the care and treatment our patients receive.  Research is one of the key business activities of our Trust.  We have a high quality research portfolio with research expertise in:

Elderly Care and Stroke

Clinical Epidemiology

Quality and Safety

Diabetes

Wound Care

Oncology

Haematology

Clinical Genetics

Obstetrics

Rheumatology

Coronary Care

Imaging

The Trust is involved in approximately 85 new projects per year with around 200 ongoing research projects led either by our staff or collaborators from other Trusts.  Our research is funded by a variety of sources including national and local charities, Department of Health and other government funding, and industry (pharmaceutical companies). Research takes place all over our hospital in clinical areas and outpatient clinics and in our local community.

In pursuing our research activity, we have mechanisms in place to maintain and constantly improve our research standards:

• A Research Support and Governance Office to ensure that research projects meet all the necessary standards to protect the safety, dignity and wellbeing of its participants.
• A programme for monitoring research to ensure compliance with these standards.
• Research training and seminars for our staff to ensure they are skilled and competent to conduct research.
• Research information (newsletters, internet, funding news) to ensure our staff are kept updated on current research policy, news and opportunities.

The Bradford Institute for Health Research opened in April 2007 at Temple Bank House (Bradford Royal Infirmary), and is an exciting landmark in the development of health research in Bradford.  The Institute is bringing together for the first time a critical mass of researches from both our hospital sites and the PCT and also our collaborators at the Universities of Leeds and Bradford.

The Institute aims to become a national centre for excellence in health research forging a unique research collaboration between the people of Bradford, the NHS community and the Universities of Leeds and Bradford.  It provides a centre housing academic and research staff, a meeting room for research education and training events, and a purpose-designed clinical trials facility for all patients involved in clinical trials, supported by a high calibre team of dedicated research nurses.

Initial impact assessment of all policies and functions:

• Grid

The following policy has been initially impact assessed:

• Research Policy (code of conduct for research involving human participants)

If you would like to see the policy relating to the above assessment please contact the Department of Equality and Diversity on telephone 01274 382412 or email equality@bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk

The following function has been initially impact assessed and have been found to have an impact on equality groups.

• Clinical Research Facility