The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) West Midlands, hosted by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) with academic leadership from the University of Warwick, has today been awarded funding by the NIHR.

The NIHR ARC West Midlands is one of 15 centres across England awarded funding of almost £9 million for five years, and will begin operating in October 2019.

The NIHR ARC West Midlands aims to tackle the key issues facing our healthcare system, including the pressures of an ageing population and the increasing demands on the NHS, through collaborative working across NHS trusts, universities, the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network and other organisations in the West Midlands.

It will build on the foundations of the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) West Midlands.

Across England, the ARCs will help to solve some of the biggest issues facing health and social care over the next five years, helping to address the increasing demands on the NHS and give patients greater independence and choice about how they manage their healthcare.

Professor Richard Lilford, ARC West Midlands Director and Professor of Public Health at Warwick Medical School (part of the University of Warwick), said: “Over the next five years the ARC will bring together the most dedicated researchers, public contributors and healthcare professionals from across the West Midlands. 

“Working closely with the Health Service, our collaboration is committed to generating the highest quality research which makes real improvements for patients and the public at every stage in their lives and we will share our findings across the country and beyond.”

Baroness Blackwood, Minister for Innovation in the UK Department of Health and Social Care, said: “As the population grows and demand on the NHS increases, it is paramount we develop the next generation of technologies and improve the way we work to ensure the NHS continues to offer world-leading care.

“The UK has a proud history of cutting edge health research and by supporting the great minds in health and social care, this funding has the potential to unlock solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing healthcare and revolutionise the way patients access treatments in the future.”

Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), added: “The unique local collective approach at each NIHR ARC will support applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local patients, and local health and care systems. The network will also be able to tackle health priorities at a national level.

“The 15 new NIHR ARC will ensure that we grow applied health and care research in every region in England. The additional funding announced today means we will ensure that our world-leading research is turned into real benefits for patients and ensure the NIHR ARC work together to have national-level impact.”

The NIHR ARC West Midlands will have four main priorities: long term health conditions, acute care interfaces, integrated care in youth mental health, and maternity care. In addition, it will have two cross-cutting themes: organisational science and research methodology, informatics and rapid response. These needs have been identified following discussions with local communities and health and social care organisations.

NIHR ARC West Midlands will work closely with Warwick Business School to assess barriers to service improvement, and how best these can be overcome.

The main academic partners for NIHR ARC West Midlands are the Universities of Warwick, Birmingham and Keele, with UHB and Birmingham Women's and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust the lead NHS organisations for the region.