RCGP announces launch of Clinical Innovation and
Research Centre
The Royal College of General Practitioners has launched its new
Clinical Innovation and Research Centre (CIRC) to bridge the gap
between research and day-to-day clinical practice.
The CIRC has integrated the RCGP’s existing
Clinical
Task Groups with the work of the Birmingham
Research Unit (BRU) and the National Collaborating Centre for Primary Care
(NCC-PC).
It will carry out a broad range of work to
support improved standards of patient care through clinical
effectiveness, quality improvement and research initiatives linked
to GP education, training and continuing professional
development.
Key to this is the appointment of the first
CIRC “Clinical Champions”, who will advocate improvements in
particular areas of clinical care and through CIRC offer College
members enhanced clinical services and support.
The five champions – to be announced shortly -
are recognised experts in the areas of Prescribing, Urgent and
Emergency Care, Patient Safety, End of Life Care and Mental
Health – the clinical priorities for the CIRC in 2007/8.
The champions will advise the College on the
priorities in their clinical areas as well as advocating
improvements in patient care at a local and national level.
Specifically, they will provide support through CIRC to members in
preferred areas of clinical interest; press for changes in clinical
areas which the College identifies as requiring improvement; and
engage with other clinical champions to ensure a unified approach
and to identify further areas that would benefit from the support
of the CIRC.
To further support the translation of research evidence into
practice and encourage more GPs to take part in studies to improve
patient care, the CIRC has developed a new primary care research
self-assessment tool called Research Ready that helps practices to
meet the basic standards of participating in research. The CIRC
will also identify funding opportunities for clinical
effectivenessand service development projects in which members may
be interested in participating.
Dr Nigel Mathers, Chair of CIRC, says: “Our members often say that
they would like more clinical support from the College. Having a
network of clinical champions means that instead of having to
contact other medical royal colleges for specialist advice, RCGP
members can call on their own College for support and guidance
through our new Centre.
“The CIRC is an integral part of the RCGP, and
the College’s core business is to improve care for patients. By
using the latest evidence to influence the ways in which practices
work, we can support grassroots GPs and improve patient care.”
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For more information please contact
the RCGP Press Team 020 7344 3136 / press@rcgp.org.uk
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Notes to editors
- More information about the CIRC can
be found at www.rcgp.org.uk/circ
- The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of over
30,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work
to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical
practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training,
research and clinical standards.