Britain’s National Health Service needs to develop a pervasive ‘research
culture’. This is the view of Michael Peckham, the new director of R&D
for the NHS, who launched his strategy for health research last week.
Peckham said a central committee, chaired by him, will draw up between
6 and 10 ‘national’ priorities for research, including heart disease and
mental health. These objectives will be shared among the regional health
authorities, which will have to publish their plans for R&D.
The Department of Health said it intends to ‘move towards’ spending
up to 1.5 per cent of NHS resources on R&D within five years. This is
about £380 million. Currently the budget is £225 million.
