Published on: 2nd March 2023
An exciting new partnership has been formed to boost health and care research opportunities in Lincolnshire.
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT), which provides mental health services, as well as some learning disability, autism and social care services in Lincolnshire, has joined forces with Age UK Lincoln & South Lincolnshire (AUKLSL), a local independent charity which supports older people, to promote a range of research studies.
The collaboration involves working together to encourage participation in National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded studies to improve knowledge and understanding of various mental health illnesses and thus improve care and support services available for those affected.
LPFT’s Clinical Research Manager, Tracy McCranor, said:
“We are delighted to launch our new collaboration, which aims to make it easy and straight-forward to find out about research happening in the county. Taking part in research is a rewarding experience and your chance to influence how care and treatment is delivered in the future.”
A launch event was held to mark the beginning of this brand-new partnership on Tuesday 21 February in Lincoln.
Among the studies showcased were PRESIDE; a singing for dementia study delivered by the University of Nottingham with LPFT; and Join Dementia Research; an initiative which encourages people over the age of 18 to sign up and be matched with suitable studies which will make a real difference to the future of dementia care, diagnosis and treatment.
AUKLSL’s Executive Assistant & Dementia Lead, Alex Williams, said:
“We are delighted to be working with LPFT in this innovative partnership, which enables us to offer our staff, volunteers and customers the opportunity to participate in research studies in order to influence care and support service delivery in Lincolnshire. We are excited to be hosting the PRESIDE study at our Park Street Activity Centre in Lincoln and look forward to welcoming older people living with dementia to this group.”
Daniel Kumar, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at NIHR Clinical Research Network East Midlands, added:
“We are proud to support this exciting partnership, which will encourage even more people to take part in vital dementia research studies. Research is so important because it can help us to understand what causes dementia disease, develop treatments and improve care for people living with dementia. We would urge people across Lincolnshire to register for Join Dementia Research and make a difference.”
To find out more about taking part in dementia research and to register your interest in participating in a study, visit https://www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk
