Primary Care Research Hub

Welcome to the North West Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN) Primary Care Research Hub

About the Hub

Developed with insight from general practices across our region, this Primary Care Hub aims to provide online support through:-

The latest clinical research news and updates
Information on available portfolio research studies you can participate in
Access to information on ongoing and upcoming portfolio studies
Access to online training resources and materials
Information on our local partners and initiatives
Access to additional online tools such as the Open Data Platform
Information on how the RRDN can support you in delivering research
Access to our Primary Care Research Solutions

Latest news and updates

North West Regional Research Delivery Network Research Showcase 2026

NW RRDN Strategic Funding Call 2025/26

The 2025/26 strategic funding call was the first offered by the newly-formed NW RRDN organisation. It was intended to provide health and social care partners with resources to develop, enhance, deliver and improve engagement in high-quality research in the North West region.

We were delighted to welcome 35 of our award recipients to our Research Showcase on 30 April 2026 to celebrate the successful outputs of their funded projects and to recognise the individuals, organisations and participants who have contributed to the delivery of innovative health and social care research aligned with NIHR RDN strategic objectives and local funding priorities. Click the LINK to view the posters.

Free one hour webinar for clinicians – SPOtting Cancer among Cormodites (“SPOCC”) - 2nd June 2026, 12.30 to 1.30pm

From Prof Gary Abel (PI of SPOCC Programme) and the SPOCC Team

We are delighted to invite you and your colleagues to a free one-hour webinar aimed at practising GPs on 2nd June at 12:30, focusing the important subject of on how pre-existing conditions can complicate or facilitate cancer diagnosis, and what can be done to improve things. This webinar draws on findings from the NIHR-funded Spotting Cancer in Comorbidities programme which included a feasibility study of a new symptom communication form.

We will present concise findings, followed by ample time for discussion and questions. Our research shows - counter to prior expectations - that many patients with co-morbid conditions who develop cancer are diagnosed at an earlier stage and are less likely to be diagnosed through emergency routes. However, this overall pattern masks important exceptions. Patients with learning disabilities and those with dementia were more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage, while patients with anxiety and depression experienced higher rates of emergency presentation.

Our work also demonstrates that classic red-flag cancer symptoms continue to represent a substantial risk of cancer regardless of a patient’s existing conditions, and therefore need to be taken seriously in all patients.

In the interactive webinar, we will explore the possible reasons for these findings and outline an initial, simple intervention that is showing promise in preliminary work, with clear relevance for the practicing GP when seeing patients.

The webinar is open to all interested parties, so please do pass this along to colleagues who may be interested and feel free to disseminate to your professional networks.

Please register for the network by following this link. A Teams link to the event will be provided after registration.

Building research skills across the NHS workforce

We are excited to share that NHS England and NIHR have launched two new free e-learning modules to help all NHS staff build their research knowledge and skills.

Whether you're a nurse, GP, pharmacist, practice manager or work in any other NHS role, these modules are designed for you:

What is Health Research? – Foundation level for anyone new to research
Intermediate module – For those looking to develop their knowledge further

Understanding research helps us all deliver better, evidence-based care to patients and contribute to innovations that transform healthcare.

Find out more: What is Health Research?

North West RRDN - Workforce & People Team Update

The latest Workforce & People Team Newsletter can be accessed here: Workforce & People Team Newsletter April 2026

This includes important updates about GCP, training opportunities, internship programmes & upcoming events.

Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Introduction: E6(R3) and the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Refresher: GCP E6(R3)

In line with the new E6(R3) GCP and UK Clinical Trial Regulation updates, both the GCP Introduction course and the GCP Refresher course have now been updated on NIHR Learn.

To access the new GCP courses, please follow this link - https://learn.nihr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1238

You will be asked to log in to your NIHR account to access the course. If you do not have an account, please use your NHS email to create an account.

We ask that staff members complete this new training at your earliest convivence.

If you have any questions about the new GCP course, please email widercareteam.nwrrdn@nihr.ac.uk

Primary Care Research Hubs

The previous North West Coast CRN and ARC funded 20 Primary Care Research Hubs across Cheshire & Merseyside and Lancashire & South Cumbria, see the posters below for more information.

You may be able to use these Hubs for research purposes if you require additional space / equipment to conduct your study. The hubs may also offer shadowing opportunities for individual training, if required (e.g., centrifuge training). This depends on practice staff capacity and must be agreed upon at the time. Please contact widercareteam.nwrrdn@nihr.ac.uk if you would like to be connected with a Research Hub. Research facilities are also available in the Greater Manchester area.

Meet the Primary Care Commercial Fellows

Commercial trial recruitment has declined nationally, reducing the UKs competitiveness. Primary Care is underused for commercial research despite its reach and diversity. The SPCR GP Commercial Research Fellowships form one part of a wider national effort to rebuild capacity. Fellows are hosted by 11 UK academic institutions in the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR). The fellows introduce themselves in the slidedeck below:

SPCR Commercial Fellows v2 SE version_KW2 (1).pptx

International Festival of Public Health

Date: Tuesday 14th July 2026

Venue: Schuster Building, University of Manchester

Time: 09:00-17:00 - however there is the option to attend full day or just the AM or PM sessions

The purpose of the International Festival of Public Health is to provide an inclusive platform for the public, researchers, students and professionals working in the public health field to interact and share ideas for developing services, research and teaching.

Further information about the event can be found here: About the Festival (The University of Manchester) & you can register here to attend/

RRDN replaced the CRN on 1st October 2024

From 1st October 2024, the 15 Local Clinical Research Networks (LCRNs) were replaced by 12 NIHR Regional Research Delivery Networks (RRDN). Each were mapped onto the NHS England Regional Office boundaries and those of the Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) operating within the regions, also coterminous with most local authority boundaries.

This provides even more focus on regional collaboration, influence and development with the local NHS and care system, to meet the needs of people within a region, while facilitating joint working with the NHS and ICSs. The NIHR Research Delivery Network is led by the leaders of the Regional Research Delivery Networks together with the National Coordinating Centre.

LCRN Greater Manchester and LCRN North West Coast have merged to become the new North West Regional Research Delivery Network, which covers the Integrated Care Systems of Cheshire and Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and Lancashire and South Cumbria.

We are excited by the opportunities we believe the new Network geographical coverage and infrastructure provides to communities across the North West’s population of 7 million people. As we embark on the transition, our focus continues to be ensuring we deliver the best research experience for local residents and working with our current and future GP partners with as little disruption to you as possible.

New SNOMED codes - dissent from research invitation

SNOMED have recently released a new code for GP sites to accurately record a patient's dissent from receiving research invitations directly from their practice.

- 1771641000000107 | Fully specified name: Dissent to receive invitation from general practitioner practice to participate in research

- 1771651000000105 | Fully specified name: Dissent withdrawn to receive from general practitioner practice to participate in research

For more information and to find out what action you may need to take at your practice, please see here.

Join Dementia Research - GP Text Messaging

Join Dementia Research is a national service funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, run by the National Institute of Health and Care Research in partnership with Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer Scotland.

Join Dementia Research enables people diagnosed with dementia, their partners and carers, as well as anyone with an interest in dementia research, to register their interest in taking part in dementia research and to be matched to suitable studies.

There’s a wide range of studies on Join Dementia Research, including studies into diagnosis, prevention, new treatments and quality of life studies. Volunteers with a dementia diagnosis often report that being involved in research can help them to maintain a positive attitude to life.

If you are interested in supporting sign ups to JDR from your practice please contact nw.rrdn@nihr.ac.uk for further information on how to get involved.

Keep up to date with other latest news, events and updates from the North West Research Community, with this link to our NW RRDN page.

NW RRDN Contact

If you have any queries about primary care research in the North West, please contact the team at: widercareteam.nwrrdn@nihr.ac.uk

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