NIHR publishes 2023/24 report and accounts
- 30 September 2024
- 4 min read
- The DHSC through the NIHR continues to provide the science and evidence that drives improvements in health and care, training the next generation of researchers, focusing on better care pathways that saves the NHS money and leads to better patient outcomes.
- This fuels growth and economic prosperity through attracting foreign and national investment into clinical trials, supporting the health of the workforce and discovering better and cheaper diagnosis, drugs and treatments.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has today (30 September 2024) published the NIHR’s annual report and accounts for 2023/24.
The report looks back over the last financial year at the breadth of health and care research funded and supported by the DHSC through the NIHR, to fulfil its mission to improve the health and wealth of the nation.
From social care research to global health, the impact of the NIHR is felt not just nationally in secondary care but around the world, in communities, social care homes and in primary care. The NIHR underpins the UK’s world-renowned research ecosystem and powers the UK’s scientific advantage. For every £1 invested in NIHR research, society receives over £13 of returns, coming from direct health benefits, profits to UK firms undertaking research and spillover returns to the wider economy.
“I want to thank everyone who has supported NIHR research over the last year and thereby made a difference to the health and wealth of our nation. This annual report spotlights where NIHR research has made a tangible difference to people’s health outcomes and has contributed to tackling health inequalities. Through our partnership working, in 2024/25 and beyond, we will continue to ensure that research will be playing its part in driving the Government’s Health and Growth Mission to build a health and care system fit for the future.”
This year’s highlights
The annual report showcases research projects which are having a significant impact on people’s lives now and in the future through:
- Impact: NIHR research saves lives and improves the quality of life of the public, enhancing resilience and productivity
- Innovation: health and care research powers the country’s life science sector and technical advantage
- Inclusion: NIHR research identifies areas of under-representation, builds research capacity with communities and researchers, and collaborates with the public to deliver evidence-based solutions that address health and care inequalities
- Investment: NIHR research drives economic returns, inward investment and economic growth
Examples of achievements from the past year are:
Impact
- An innovative new £42m prostate cancer screening trial, co-funded with Prostate Cancer UK. Hundreds of thousands of men across the country will take part. They will test new screening methods like MRI scans. This will help find ways of detecting the country’s most common male cancer earlier.
- The NIHR-funded CAP-IT trial explored antibiotic use in young children with pneumonia. It delivered practice-changing results, reducing treatment time from 7 to 3 days. This can be done safely without delaying recovery.
Innovation
- DHSC / NIHR research invests in foundational underpinning science, facilities, talent and capacity building across the health and care workforce which makes the country and science superpower. The NIHR Clinical Research Network supported the recruitment of 44 first participants to global studies, and to 558 commercial international studies overall in 2023/24, representing an increase in both measures compared to 2022/23.
- The NIHR Academy launched new schemes to demonstrate to registered healthcare, social work and public health students the benefits that research can bring to their future careers. The ‘INSIGHT’ scheme provides opportunities for institutions that host NIHR research to show to students what a professional life enriched by research can look like. It aims to support those at an early stage of their professional careers.
Inclusion
- In 2023-24 we launched our first NIHR ‘Challenge’ funding call. This will invest £50 million in research to tackle inequalities in maternity care.
- We launched a large-scale DNA and health research programme for children. The programme will enable researchers to explore the genetics of a range of diseases that begin, or have their origins, in childhood. This includes certain mental health conditions, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Investment
- The UK Government has approved the use of digital pathology to help speed up analysis of cancer screening samples. This followed the results from an NIHR-funded study. The technique will particularly benefit screening for bowel, breast, lung and cervical cancers. It will result in faster reporting to deliver world-class care.
- Tens of thousands of women in England will benefit from a drug that prevents breast cancer. Anastrozole is a hormone blocker used for many years to treat breast cancer. It has been licensed for preventative use following research supported by the NIHR. It’s the first drug to be repurposed under the new, multi-agency programme Medicines Repurposing Programme.
Financial report
NIHR’s total spend on domestic research increased by around 4.2% in 2023/24 from 2022/23 enabling NIHR to make additional investments in research funding, research infrastructure and training and career development. In terms of infrastructure, the increase provided new funding for capital equipment for NHS trusts across England through the NIHR Capital Investment Call, it has funded 17 new Health Determinants research centres, in partnership with local authorities. It has made a step change to bring research into nursing, providing new opportunities in this profession.
