Patient Safety Research Collaborations

Summary

NIHR Patient Safety Research Collaborations (PSRCs) are partnerships between universities and NHS trusts that support patient safety research. There are six PSRCs in England, aiming to bring patient safety discoveries to frontline NHS services.

About PSRCs

NIHR has funded six Patient Safety Research Collaborations (PSRCs) in England with a £25 million investment over five years, from 1 April 2023.

PSRCs will carry out research to improve patient safety, looking at topics including service delivery, patient safety behaviours, clinical decision making, and transitions between care settings. A key emphasis underpinning all research will be reducing safety inequalities in healthcare.

The six collaborations will establish a PSRC Network, providing a platform for strategic coordination and collaboration. This will facilitate national links between PSRCs and their key partners, including Academic Health Science Networks, Patient Safety Improvement Programmes, NHS England, NIHR infrastructure, charities, industry and other national partners.

Addressing Strategic Patient Safety Challenges

NIHR PSRCs will undertake a programme of work to address one or more Strategic Patient Safety Challenges, which have been developed with relevant stakeholders. These are:

Improving patient safety intelligence and understanding of patient safety challenges
Improving organisational patient safety culture and practice
Patient safety behaviours
Effective patient safety practices
The patient safety impacts of alternative service delivery models
Ergonomics, design and human factors
Clinical risk scores (validation, implementation and outcomes)

Funded PSRCs 2023 to 2028

Six PSRCs have been awarded designation and funding.

Name	Host institution	Strategic Patient Safety Challenges
NIHR Central London Patient Safety Research Collaboration	University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	Clinical risk scores Effective patient safety practices Improving organisational patient safety culture and practice The patient safety impacts of alternative service delivery models
NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration	Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation	Effective patient safety practices Improving organisational patient safety culture and practice The patient safety impacts of alternative service delivery models
NIHR Midlands Patient Safety Research Collaboration	University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust	Effective patient safety practices
NIHR Newcastle Patient Safety Research Collaboration	The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	Clinical risk scores Effective patient safety practices Patient safety behaviours
NIHR North West London Patient Safety Research Collaboration	Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust	Effective patient safety practices Improving patient safety intelligence and understanding of patient safety challenges Patient safety behaviours
NIHR Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Research Collaboration	Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	Effective patient safety practices Improving organisational patient safety culture and practice Improving patient safety intelligence and understanding of patient safety challenges Patient safety behaviours

Evolution from NIHR PSTRCs to NIHR PSRCs

The NIHR Patient Safety Translational Research Centres (PSTRCs) preceded the current PSRC awards and were aimed at increasing responsiveness to the needs of the health and care system, as well as increasing the ability to work across areas with greatest need for improvement in patient safety.