Striving for excellence

Our research is conducted to the highest standards of excellence and is informed by the views and priorities of our patients, their carers and clinical colleagues.  Participation in Trust research is a rewarding and positive experience, and is fully integrated within the caring, safe and excellent standard clinical care that Oxford Health provides.

The Research and Development (R&D) department, which encompasses a research support team, a CRF team, a research delivery team, and support for patient and public involvement, is based at the Warneford Hospital, Oxford, and is at the heart of Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. We believe in the benefits of research to improve patient care, and on average have 100 studies open at any one time – ranging from small student projects to psychological interventions, to highly complex clinical trials of new medicines.

Research themes

Areas of research that we support cover a wide number of conditions, including dementia, bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia and we are looking for opportunities to increase research in community-based non-mental health areas.

Our study activity is conducted in a variety of environments – including clinical services, patients’ homes, care homes and the Clinical Research Facility (CRF), situated on the Warneford Hospital site. This Facility receives funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and provides a wide range of clinical and scientific resources and patient facilities to enable high-quality,  translational neuroscience studies, using a wide range of research methods, from big data collection to brain scanning. The Facility is committed to gaining a deeper understanding of complex conditions and disorders, and to translating research findings into better treatments for patients.

Collaboration

The Trust works closely with the University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry, which is also based on the Warneford site, and the Department of Primary Care. The Department of Psychiatry is a national leader in the advancement of research into a variety of psychiatric conditions and their respective treatments.

In 2016 Oxford Health and the University of Oxford were successful in their bid for a Biomedical Research Centre dedicated to translating innovative research into better treatments for mental health disorders and dementia. Over five years, the centre will receive 12.8 million pounds to fund its research.

In 2011 the NIHR Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility (CH-CRF) opened on the Warneford site. This is a single managed entity hosted by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUHFT) in partnership with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT). The CH-CRF forms an integral part of the Biomedical Research Centre.

The Trust also hosts the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley (ARC) which carries out applied health research that will have a direct impact on patient health and well-being and the NIHR Community Healthcare MedTech and In vitro diagnostics Co-operative (MIC).