Primary Care Update: June 2010

There is a unique resource of primary care research and clinical expertise within COMPASS, which complements disciplines such as palliative care, oncology and psychiatry. This has been useful recently in gaining and then writing up projects for a broad readership. COMPASS researchers have continued to encourage palliative care research in the primary care academic community, and also encouraged specialist palliative care to remember the importance of research in the community.

COMPASS researchers have been successful in winning of a number of research projects funded by the DOH, Macmillan Cancer Relief, CRUK and more recently the MRC. A number of these are multi site – most notably a series of SDO/NIHR funded projects where London, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Cambridge come together to win a number of bids with different COMPASS Universities leading on different bids.

COMPASS researchers have been advocating for more cancer and palliative care research in primary care. Professor Weller continues to Chair the International Primary Care Cancer Group (now called Ca-PRI), which had its third meeting in Toronto in May 2010.

Professor Murray continues to Chair the International Primary Palliative Care Research Group which is successfully advocating for palliative care in the community in a number of European and African countries. Its annual meeting is to be on 13th/14th September 2010.

Domhnall Macauley, the Primary Care BMJ Editor, and Scott Murray continue to lead the “Making a Difference Campaign” in the BMJ where a palliative care approach is being advocated for all with progressive life threatening illness. COMPASS primary care researchers ( Barclay, Maher, Sheik, Murray) have three papers in press for a special BMJ edition, spotlighting palliative care.

Stephen Barclay and Scott Murray have continued to lead the NCRI Primary Palliative Care Development Group which has helped facilitate the design and funding of a number of projects. Marilyn Kendall from the Primary Palliative Care Research Team in Edinburgh has been facilitating user involvement for the COMPASS collaborative and has, together with Peter Rainey and Carolyn Morris, very successfully recruited a user involvement panel which has had considerable input into a number of research projects throughout 2010.

Scott Murray, June 2010.