New RCGP Marie Curie Palliative Care Fellowship
Press release published
The RCGP and Marie Curie have announced a new Scientific Foundation Board (SFB) fellowship in palliative and primary care, offering up to £40,000 to the successful GP.
The RCGP’s Scientific Foundation Board supports high quality primary care research studies and awards grants for research projects where findings will be of direct relevance to the care of patients in the general practice setting. The aim of the new fellowship is to bring palliative and end of life care to the forefront of primary care research and to identify and support a future leader in the field.
The RCGP and Marie Curie recognise that there is a pressing need for high quality research to increase the evidence base for palliative and end of life care. In a recent analysis of health research in the UK in 2014, only 0.16% of research funds allocated to health-related research were spent on end of life care research. This is in stark contrast to the number of people needing palliative and end of life care, mostly in the community and often with primary care input needed.
Professor Bill Noble, Medical Director at Marie Curie, said: “We are delighted to support a new fellowship that will help further our understanding of how best to deliver and improve care for people with a terminal illness in their own home or care home. We know, for example, that out of hours palliative care is a real concern and top research priority for patients, families, carers, and the professionals who support them. Proposals that tackle the dearth of research addressing 24/7 palliative care, as well as the interface between primary care and social care, such as examining and improving the interaction of GP practices and care homes or similar, will be particularly welcome.”
Dr Catherine Millington-Sanders, RCGP and Marie Curie Clinical Lead for End of Life Care, said: “With our ageing population, and as the number of deaths increase in the future, GPs and our teams will need additional time and support in order to provide the high quality care our patients deserve at an incredibly vulnerable time in their lives.
“But as well as more investment and resources, the thing that could make a real difference to the care that GPs and our teams deliver to our patients at, or nearing, the end of their lives, is good quality research in the area, and this grant is a fantastic step towards achieving this.”
Funds can be used flexibly and might cover a systematic literature review or qualitative / mixed method study. It could also be used for a knowledge translation or implementation study. The use of the funds for developmental work that will lead to a larger grant application, e.g. from the National Institute of Health Research, Marie Curie or any other eligible funder, is also encouraged.
The call for applications is now open and will close on 31 July 2016. For more information please visit http://www.rcgp.org.uk/SFB, contact the Scientific Foundation Board by email at SFB@rcgp.org.uk or telephone 020 3188 7594.
- Ends -
Updated
Notes to editor
Please note – we are now called ‘Marie Curie’ (not Marie Curie Cancer Care)
Marie Curie – care and support through terminal illness
Marie Curie is the UK’s leading charity for people with any terminal illness. The charity helps people living with a terminal illness and their families make the most of the time they have together by delivering expert hands-on care, emotional support, research and guidance.
Marie Curie employs more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, and with its nine hospices around the UK, is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS.
For more information visit www.mariecurie.org.uk
Like us at www.facebook.com/mariecurieuk
Follow us on www.twitter.com/mariecurieuk
The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 50,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.