Minister sees how Manchester is leading the way in research and innovation
7 April 2011
Health Minister Lord Howe visited Manchester at the invitation of Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC) - a collaboration between the University of Manchester and six NHS organisations - to see for himself the pioneering work being undertaken which is benefitting patients young and old.
He started the day by visiting the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, meeting young people in the
Director, Dr Nick Webb and Chief Nurse Carol Wood explained to the minister how the safe environment of the facility can be used for patients requiring either the administration of a complex medical therapy or for prolonged visits requiring intensive investigation or observation.
Lord Howe then made the short walk to the University of Manchester’s Core Technology Facility to endorse an exciting new competition for researchers in the city to find potential solutions to address universal unmet needs within the area of healthcare associated infections, i.e. how to test for infectious agents with immediate diagnostic results; how to decontaminate a clinical environment to set standards and how to improve handwashing to reduce the spread of infections?
During lunch, Professor Ian Jacobs, MAHSC’s newly appointed Director and Dean of the University’s Facility of Medicine and Health Sciences introduced Lord Howe to three of the many projects which are already demonstrating how the organisation’s vision is delivering measurable and sustainable improvements in patient outcomes and healthcare delivery.
These include:
- An innovative application to support the design and recruitment of clinical trials, which allows researchers to work more easily and closely with GP Practices at the crucial stage of determining whether a study is viable.
- A national screening study for women at risk of late effects breast cancer following radiation.
- The first comparative study of cardiac surgery outcomes which shows NHS patients in
Health Minister Lord Howe said:
“I am delighted to see first-hand how the research and innovation that is taking place here is helping to improve the lives of patients in the local community.
“We are determined to make the NHS one of the leading healthcare systems in the world. Manchester Academic Health Science Centre is helping us do this by developing medical advancements that will help the NHS detect diseases earlier – a vital development as we move towards to more modern NHS.”
Professor Ian Jacobs adds: “Our region faces huge health challenges, with mortality rates for all of the big killer diseases higher than the national average and life expectancy for men who live here lower than anywhere else in the
For more information on MAHSC please contact Dr Linda Magee, Chief Operating Officer on 0161 306 0639 or for media information please contact