Scanner funding vow for 'research hotel'

Published on Wednesday 9 July 2008 21:46

A £13 MILLION research centre that will put Scotland at the forefront of finding new treatments for diseases such as cancer has opened in Dundee.

The Clinical Research Centre (CRC) at Ninewells Hospital will be used for studies and research projects in areas including breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes and mental illness.

Developed by Dundee University in partnership with NHS Tayside, it will also function as a "research hotel", where scientists will be able to book beds and other facilities to conduct patient-based trials and other projects.

Professor Alastair Thompson, a leading researcher in breast cancer and director of the centre, said it would transform clinical research activity in Tayside.

He said: "We have been able to establish a great platform for medical research into some of the most serious diseases.

"What this centre does is give us a purpose-built facility capable of taking that research on to a new level. It will make us more efficient in our research, gives us greater capability to run more complex trials and will give real benefit to patients in this area.

"What we have here is an outstanding facility of its type in the UK and right up there with the best in the world."

A university spokesman said dozens of clinical studies and research projects would run every year and patients were already being accepted.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Cabinet secretary for health and wellbeing, pledged 1.6 million of Scottish Government funding for a PET-CT scanner at the centre when she officially opened it yesterday. The scanner will be used to bolster medical research studies by tracing any changes in cancer-cell activity.

Ms Sturgeon said: "Research remains at the heart of the modern NHS and ensures great strides are made in patient safety and providing the best possible care.

"Screening for breast cancer, developing pioneering child immunisation programmes and opening blocked heart arteries by balloon surgery are examples of important developments which are now routine.

"These developments have radically changed the way healthcare is provided in Scotland and improved the health of our population. That is why I am delighted to open this exciting new research centre and pledge funding for a PET-CT scanner. Both will be vital to building on Scotland's golden reputation for world-class healthcare solutions."

Dr Charles Weller, the CRC operations manager, said the new centre would link into the Scottish Clinical Research Network, complementing existing facilities in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

"This centre ensures that Dundee and Tayside play their part in ensuring that Scotland remains at the forefront of clinical research," he said.

"There are knock-on benefits to the local economy as well, since, as well as employing a number of new staff, the CRC will increase the attraction of Dundee for industrial collaborators as well as larger, academically-funded projects."