SAPPHIRE group is partner in 42m new research institute to boost evidence on improving care in the NHS

A new research institute led by the University of Cambridge is seeking to create a world-leading asset for the NHS by improving the science behind healthcare organisation and delivery, and the University of Leicester’s Social Science Applied to Healthcare Improvement Research (SAPPHIRE) group is a founding partner.

The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute (THIS Institute) is made possible by the largest single grant ever made by the Health Foundation, an independent charity. The new institute is founded on the principle that efforts to improve care should always be based on the best quality of evidence. Some of that evidence will be created by NHS patients and staff themselves, using innovative citizen science methods in large-scale research projects.

Members of the SAPPHIRE group, which is based in the Department of Health Sciences and carries out healthcare improvement research informed by social science theory and methods, have taken part in a series of workshops over the last few months to inform THIS Institute’s development. SAPPHIRE’s co-leads Professor Natalie Armstrong and Dr Carolyn Tarrant along with SAPPHIRE member and Health Sciences’ Head of Department Professor Graham Martin all attended THIS Institute’s recent launch.

Professor Armstrong said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be part of this exciting new venture, which will make significant advances in supporting the improvement of healthcare quality and safety. We look forward to working with THIS Institute and the other partners over the coming months and years.”

A press release from THIS Institute about its launch is available here