The University of Northampton and St Andrew’s Healthcare extend their groundbreaking academic partnership

Three part-time University of Northampton Professors have been appointed at St Andrew’s Healthcare. The new jointly appointed senior academic members of staff are Dr Geoff Dickens, Dr Camilla Haw and Dr Clive Long. They have a record of innovative mental health research activity, and will support the development of research and research infrastructure, including a tailored Masters in Clinical Research (MClinRes) programme of study.

St Andrew’s Healthcare, provides more NHS care than any other charity. The University of Northampton’s School of Health offers flexible learning, including part time options and a choice of learning with a strong practical bias. Together they have previously announced the development of an institutional agreement to deliver high quality clinical education and experience for students to become fully qualified mental health professionals.

Professor Philip Sugarman, Chief Executive Officer of St Andrew’s Healthcare says that this development will be another important milestone in the partnership’s progress:  “”The Charity’s aim is to be a world class teaching hospital and a national centre of excellence. Together with the University of Northampton we are building a centre for training and research which will have international standing across professional healthcare.””

Professor Nick Petford, Vice Chancellor, University of Northampton, says: “The University of Northampton is delighted to be taking a step further in becoming a national centre of excellence in mental healthcare research with St Andrew’s, one of our key strategic partners. The partnership has been developing over many years and together we offer excellent training opportunities for students, extensive professional development opportunities for staff and now the potential to influence the future care of this client group by collaborative research and related research education.”

Importantly, the deal involves the development of a new Masters degree programme in Clinical Mental Health Research (MClinRes) designed for professionals including registered mental health and learning disability nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists working in the mental health field. The award will be the first step on the ladder to a career in clinically-focused research. The development and application of original research to clinical practice are central to high-quality innovative care and treatment.

The new Masters award will ensure that leading practitioners are equipped with the skills to be leading researchers in the future. The new programme will ensure that a number of staff each year undertake innovative research in their field under expert supervision and conclude by disseminating their work at leading conferences and in international journals, and translating into practice.