New Wessex-based Commercial Research Delivery Centre

Wessex Research Hubs is delighted to have been successful in our bid to become an officially-designated Commercial Research Delivery Centre, part of a new national network of centres supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).  

This evolution of our model builds on the success of our four hubs in Portsmouth,

Southampton, Bournemouth and Weymouth. Since opening, people from across the region have benefitted from being able to take part in vitally important public health studies in their local area.  

Our unique, cross-organisation and pan-regional approach began as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic and now brings together multiple NHS Trusts, one large GP practice and several other partners.  

Since opening, staff from all sites have run late-phase, large scale clinical trials across four different facilities, supported by the NIHR’s Regional Research Delivery Networks.  

Under our enhanced model, we will: 

• Increase access for the public across Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight to participate in important research to advance healthcare 

• Expand the use of our two mobile research units to support more trials in the community 

• Support more GP practices to become research active, bringing trials even closes to people’s homes  

• Work with patient and public involvement and engagement officers to build local links with communities to increase the diversity of our recruitment 

• Broaden our range of research to include trials for both healthy volunteers and patients with conditions – widening access to innovative treatments and interventions 

• Create opportunities for people living in Salisbury and Basingstoke to take part in research 

• Build links with industry, leading to greater inward investment into the Wessex area and the UK as a whole 

  
  

Working together, seven local NHS organisations will run the new NIHR Commercial Research Delivery Centre: 

• University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (lead) 

• Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust 

• University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust 

• Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 

• Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust 

• Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 

• Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust 

  
  

These National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) organisations will support:  

• South Central Regional Research Delivery Network 

• South West Central Regional Research Delivery Network 

  
  

The new NIHR CRDC will be under the governance of Wessex Health Partners, a regional partnership working to accelerate improvements in health and care through research and innovation.

Dr Patrick Moore, a Poole-based GP, and Director of the new NIHR CRDC said: "Many participants in our trials are motivated by a strong desire to give back to the NHS and contribute to groundbreaking medical advancements that could improve the health and care of others in the future. With this expansion, even more individuals will have the opportunity to take part in vital research, driving meaningful improvements both regionally and beyond." 

Prof Saul Faust, Co-Director of the new CRDC, said: "Becoming an official CRDC is a significant milestone for Wessex Research Hubs and truly puts us on the map. What makes this even more special is the opportunity to continue working as a collaborative team within our region. Being part of the new national network is an exciting development, and it gives us great confidence as we advance and grow our groundbreaking regional collaboration in the years ahead."  

Dr Karen Underwood, Director of Research & Development at University Hospital Southampton, said: “Delivering research that impacts on our patients and communities is fundamental to our vision. I am proud that our Trust is supporting this regional initiative and look forward to working together with partners to deliver patient-centred and inclusive commercial research.”  

Christine McGrath, Managing Director of Wessex Health Partners, said: “When we came together as Wessex Health Partners during the pandemic, we created a trailblazing new model which elevated pan-regional working to a whole new level. Our new CRDC will build on this work further, showing that by working together we can achieve so much more regionally, nationally and globally.” 

Kirsty Gladas, Senior Research Nurse Manager at South Central Regional Research Delivery Network, said: “We are excited to be able to offer more research opportunities to our communities, and ultimately contribute to the improvement of health and wealth in the region.” 

The new CRDCs are an evolution of the current NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre scheme. The centres of excellence will be dedicated to delivering commercial research, offering additional commercial research delivery capacity to existing health and care organisations and benefitting the UK economy and the NHS. 

CRDCs will be dedicated to delivering commercial clinical research and respond to the five pillars of the UK Clinical Research Delivery Vison: clinical research embedded in the NHS; patient-centred research; streamlined, efficient and innovative research; research enabled by data and digital tools; and a sustainable and supported research workforce.