About
The North West London Primary Care Research Network (NHS Funded)
Is a multidisciplinary network of primary care professionals and organisations committed to research in primary care.
WeLReN's overall aim is the building of a primary care research infrastructure within the NW London Strategic Health Authority area.
The NW London Strategic Health Authority area covers 8 PCTs
- Brent
- Ealing
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Harrow
- Hillingdon
- Hounslow
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Westminster.
WeLReN also has local connections with:
| NHS Trusts |
Specialist Trust |
Universities |
Networks |
| Chelsea & Westminster Healthcare |
Central and North West London MH Trust |
Brunel |
NELCRAD: North East London Consortium for Research and Development |
| Ealing Hospital |
Royal London Homeopathic Hospital |
Imperial College |
NoCLoR: Northern Central London Research Consortium |
| Hammersmith Hospitals |
West London MH Trust |
Thames Valley |
StaRNeT London |
| North West London Hospitals |
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Westminster |
Battersea Research Group |
| Royal Brompton and Harefield |
|
West London Deanery |
UK Federation of Primary Care Research Networks |
| St Mary's |
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University of Surrey |
Essex Primary Care Research Network |
| The Hillingdon Hospital |
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HertNet |
| West Middlesex University Hospital |
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WeLReN funds and assists research projects, provides training, library resources and research management and governance from its offices at Imperial College with the aim of creating primary care research capacity and research publications.
WeLReN is particularly keen to fund developmental research projects that have a direct impact on service delivery and clinical standards, in line with declared national and local priorities. To assist with this development WeLReN is setting up Special Interest Groups (SIGs) around national priorities with the aim that all WeLReN research projects will be developed in consultation with the SIGs.
News from the Department of Health indicates that it will expect primary care research networks to be generating a significant proportion of their own funding within the next 2-3 years. SIGs will be in a strong position to eventually seek and obtain funding from regional and national sources.
WeLReN has also highlighted five areas of research it is particularly interested in funding. These research programmes are in diabetes, older people, mental health, child health and capacity building.
Membership
- 742 Primary Care members (of which 292 are GPs from 230 practices)
- 542 Key Allies (non front-line professionals, academics and non West London)
- over 1200 members
To join WeLReN please email the WeLReN administrator (weladm@imperial.ac.uk)
with your name, job title, organisation, address, PCT, telephone number and email
address. Membership is free. Your details will be held on our mailing database and you will receive information about WeLReN in the form of our quarterly Bulletin. You can also request to join the WeLReN E-Group, which circulates relevant primary care research news. To remove your details from the mailing database please contact the WeLReN Administrator as above.
Academic links
WeLReN has strong links with Imperial College , where one of its offices is based. Imperial College provides specialist advice to research projects, provides a forum for peer review of projects and also research methods training. WeLReN hopes to link Imperial College GP medical students with PCT priorities for research projects. This will give undergraduates real world research experience whilst PCTs gain assistants with relevant medical knowledge to work on PCT projects.
WeLReN is also fostering links with Thames Valley University for the provision of further training.
Staffing
The WeLReN is based Imperial College Department of Primary Care and Social Medicine at the Charing Cross Campus and its HQ is at Brent PCT, Wembley Centre for Health and Care - see contact.
Research funding
WeLReN provides funding for research projects that are successful in its annual call in October. Experienced researchers are invited to submit proposals for up to £20,000. Currently 26 projects have been completed and 8 are underway. For more information on these see Projects.
As well as providing funding to groups of researchers the network also works with externally funded projects (partnership projects).
Management
The Steering Group
A Steering Group, constituted from key partners, oversees WeLReN. See below for a list of the members and who they represent. Four Reference Groups, namely research, finance, education & training and clinical trials, report to the Steering Group.
The Steering Group members and who they represent are:
Dr Zach de Beer (Chair)
Zach is the Director of Public Health for Brent Primary Care Trust and the Chair of WeLReN.
Ricky Banarsee - Brent PCT / Management
Ricky is the Director of WeLReN and of the Applied Research Unit at Brent Primary Care Trust. He also heads the Research Management Governance Unit.
He is a Research Fellow at Imperial College and a Senior Visiting Fellow at Thames Valley University. He chairs the Finance Reference Group.
Dr Mitch Blair - NW London NHS Trust
Mitch is the Director of Research and Development at Northwick Park Hospital , NW London NHS Trust and Heads the Special Interest Group in Child Health.
Mr John Hunter - Harrow PCT / Consumer
John is a non-executive Director of Harrow Primary Care Trust. He is also a member of the Research Reference Group.
Ms Sue Jeffers - Hounslow PCT/Nursing
Sue is Director of Nursing at Hounslow Primary Care Trust.
Dr Mark Lewis - SHA / Management
Mark is the Director of Analysis and Clinical Development and Head of Governance at the North West London Strategic Health Authority.
Professor Christine Norton - NWL NHS Trust / Nursing
Christine is a Nurse Consultant at Northwick Park Hospital and is an Honorary Professor of Nursing at Kings College, London.
Dr Dinesh Sethi - Ealing PCT / Public Health
Dinesh is a Consultant in Public Health to Ealing Primary Care Trust.
Professor Paul Thomas - Thames Valley University / Brent PCT / GP / Research Governance
Paul is Professor of Research, Training and Education for Primary Care at Thames Valley University . He also chairs the Research Governance Management Steering Group.
Professor John Eade - University of Surrey
John is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Surrey.
Dr Colin Lyon - Hammersmith PCT / GP
Colin is a GP at the North End Medical Practice and is the academic lead for Health Informatics special interest group.
Julia Scott - Occupational Therapy / Social Services
Julia is Occupational Therapy and Disability Manager at Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.
Jayne Liddle - Kensington & Chelsea PCT
Jayne is Head of Clinical Governance at Kensington & Chelsea PCT.
Melvyn Leach - Consumer
Melvyn is a lay representaive on the Steering Group. He is Centre Manager for the Harrow Teachers Centre.
Sylvia Westrup - WeLReN / Researcher
Sylvia is the Research Project Facilitator for WeLReN. She is the chair of the Research Reference Group, and a member of the External Affairs Reference Group.
Liz Richards - WeLReN
Liz is the Administrator for WeLReN.
Angela Whyte - WeLReN
Angela is the WeLReN secretary and acts as secretary to the Steering Group.
Reference Groups
Finance
- Ricky Banarsee - Chair
- Francois Bosch - Thames Valley University
- Mike Mc Gowan - Brent PCT
- Angela Whyte - WeLReN
Education and Training Reference Group
- Ricky Banarsee - Chair
- John Eade - University of Surrey
- Gail Thomas - Thames Valley University
- Martin Rhodes - Imperial College
- Sue Morrison - GP
- Tom Leach - Brent TPCT
- Lizzy Richards - WeLReN
Research Reference Group
- Sylvia Westrup - Chair
- John Hunter - Harrow PCT
- Maxine Offredy - Harrow PCT/University of Hertfordshire
- Prof Azeem Majeed - Imperial College
External Affairs Reference Group
- To be replaced by a clinical trials reference group
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