The secretaries of State for Health and Innovation, Universities and Skills have welcomed the first progress report submitted to Ministers by the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR).

 

OSCHR was established 22 months ago following Sir David Cooksey's recommendations (A review of health research funding) for better co-ordination of health research activities across the UK, and a stronger focus on translating basic science into improved care for NHS patients.

 

The OSCHR progress report highlights the main elements of the combined approach that has been put in place by the NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC) since the Cooksey review. This period has seen an unprecedented commitment to health research in terms of funding, infrastructure, research programmes and the volume of health research commissioned.

 

The Government's single health research fund, which will soon top £1.7 billion a year, is distributed in England by the Department of Health to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills to the MRC.

 

The OSCHR progress report can be downloaded here.