NIHR Oxford Health CRF

Mental ill health is the single largest cause of disability in the UK. The NHS burden (with associated economic costs, approximately £120b/year) is a serious challenge.

As described in the Life Sciences Vision (the government and life science sector s plan to create a thriving sector, and tackle major causes of death and disease), mental health treatments are often unsatisfactory and mental health research is lagging behind other areas. The Department of Health and UK Government recognise this imbalance needs to be redressed urgently.

Outcomes for patients will be improved by better understanding the underlying mechanisms of mental illness and developing new interventions targeting these mechanisms.

The NIHR Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility (OH-CRF) aims to be part of the vision for the UK to be the best place to conduct streamlined, efficient and innovative research in mental health. Our mission is to deliver early translational and experimental medicine research in cognitive and mental health.

Working with academic, industry and NHS partners, our approach is to provide adaptable facilities staffed by a highly trained multidisciplinary team, through collaboration, innovation, and flexibility, as recently demonstrated by the OH-CRF s critical contribution to the Urgent Public Health Emergency Covid-19 vaccine research.

Facilities specifically designed to conduct high intensity mental health research are essential, as such research activity cannot be accommodated within clinical services.

As the only UK CRF dedicated entirely to mental health, OH-CRF already has a proven track record in delivering early translational and experimental medicine studies. Opened in 2011, it was subsequently awarded NIHR funding in 2012 and 2016.

OH-CRF is strategically fully aligned with the NIHR OH Biomedical Research Centre (OH-BRC), realising the opportunities afforded by the outstanding neuroscience environment within Oxford and local and national NIHR networks, such as the Oxford Academic Health Partners, NIHR UKCRF network, NIHR Oxford University Hospitals BRC, NIHR Mental Health and Dementia Translational Research Collaborations and the Local Clinical Research Network.

The OH-CRF research covers many areas of mental health and dementia, working in partnership with charities to embed meaningful and effective involvement of views of people with lived experience.

Building on our achievements, a key part of our strategy is the expansion into community settings locally and within other NHS Trusts through new partnerships (Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) thus facilitating engagement of more diverse populations.

This ensures that research cohorts reflect those that may benefit from new treatments and is critical in addressing mental health inequalities. OH-CRF training opportunities will empower NHS staff to become involved in research.

Broader engagement nationally, including with the Centre for Ethnic Health Research in Leicester and partnerships with Birmingham and Solihull, Mersey Care, and Southern Health Trusts, provide opportunities for increasing workforce capability both for OH-CRF and the wider NHS research community.

Our expansion and national leadership are supported by collaborating NHS Trusts, which means that OH-CRF is seeking NIHR support within the same funding envelope as the award in 2016, thereby providing excellent value for money.