The North West Coast AHSN is supporting the launch of a new health and education innovation centre in Chester with a £25,000 funding grant.

The Centre for Integrated Healthcare Science (CHIS) is a joint venture between the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Chester, which will facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration across the two organisations.

Based at Bache Hall, adjacent to the hospital, the centre will act as a hub for innovation and collaboration; enabling the integration of research and education into health and social care.

Dr Liz Mear, chief executive of the North West Coast AHSN, said:

“We’re very pleased to be working alongside Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Chester to support this exciting new project.

“The Centre will have a number of positive effects both within the Trust and the wider healthcare and education community.  Integration will be at the heart of all the activities at the Centre, and we hope that this will help to spur on the original healthcare research coming from Chester; boosting research quality and activity, improving collaboration and innovation, and ultimately improving the quality of care delivered to the community as a whole.

“The Centre’s work will ultimately drive the development of truly integrated models of care from community to acute trust and back again.  We hope that new collaborations which have never been explored will evolve; helping to spark the development of improved care pathways.”

Steve Bridge, Associate Director of the CHIS, said:

“The Hospital and the University are delighted to be working together to develop this new initiative which we hope will have far reaching positive consequences for the health of our local population. We will build on models already developed across the UK and internationally to promote research and innovation, integration, and new educational models for our future clinical workforce.”

The Centre will house the University of Chester’s new Institute of Medicine, a development driven by collaboration between staff at both organisations which will produce a comprehensive medical education in all aspects of health care in the future. A purpose-built “South of the Mersey” centre of excellence for education and research to attract first class teachers and researchers to develop healthcare policies, programmes and treatments for the future, will also be based at the centre.

The NWC AHSN funding will cover start-up costs for the venture – including development of IT links and infrastructure between the hospital and the Bache Hall site, the delivery of external access groundworks to the Centre, the refurbishment of the building, and the creation of a leadership role to implement and develop the project.