This new centre of excellence being planned near Loughborough will be co-located with the specialist centre for Armed Forces rehabilitation which opened in 2018, replacing the former MoD facility at Headley Court in Surrey. The site is the Stanford Hall Rehabilitation Estate.
Loughborough University and the University of Nottingham, joined by a network of 24 other education and research establishments from across the UK, are leading the work.
The newly-formed body is called the NRC Clinical & Academic Partnership – and is now starting its work.
Driving up standards in research, education and clinical care
To set up the partnership, the NRC invited bids and responses were received from all over the UK. Following the strength of the submissions, it was agreed that Loughborough University and the University of Nottingham would collaborate and lead the partnership together – allowing the NRC to benefit from their complementary specialisms.
Both Loughborough University and the University of Nottingham are pre-eminent and world-leaders in this field.
The partners will be working with the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which is the NHS sponsor for the NRC, to drive up standards in research, education and clinical care. Getting patients and clinicians to set research priorities and work with industrial partners will be a great advantage of this clinical academic partnership.
The potential for innovation is substantial with the partnership ambitious to push forward real improvements to clinical care, covering 3D printing of prostheses through to wearable technologies and medical devices to enable the development of cutting-edge treatments and assistive technologies, ultimately aiming to tackle future healthcare challenges.
Professor Mark Lewis, Dean of Loughborough University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences said:
“We are excited to be co-leading this consortium – the world-leading research and education expertise we have will be used to transform education and training within rehabilitation and provide patient health benefits through advanced rehabilitation pathways and techniques.”