Patient and public involvement (PPI) in the Newcastle NIHR SPCR membership is embedded within existing long established PPI networks and organisations at Newcastle University. These include the University's Faculty of Medical Sciences demonstrated by a central Faculty Public Engagement Team led by Dr Lynne Corner, who is a member of the NIHR INVOLVE national group, together with a number of PPI engagement officers.

 

The University commitment is supported by other regional academic, NHS, local authority and voluntary sector partners, many of them nationally recognised and focused on ageing and chronic age-related conditions, illustrated through the regional initiatives established by Dr Corner, such as VOICE and Years Ahead (see below).  This expertise and commitment to excellence, together with a robust approach to effective partnership working, will extend these successful activities and ensure PPI is embedded throughout all stages of our research, translation and innovation activity.  

 

The insights, views and experiences of patients, carers and the public will drive our approach; patients and members of the public are genuine partners in all we do and 

together we want to create an energetic and stimulating research environment, with a shared commitment to the importance and value of research, the active engagement and involvement of patients and the public in every stage of research, and to the effective and timely translation of evidence into innovative clinical practice, to make a 

direct and real difference to people’s lives.  

 

VOICE: One of our key public engagement strengths is VOICE the North East Research and Engagement panel.  VOICE is co-ordinated from the Newcastle University Institute for Ageing.  Through this Initiative, an inspiring fusion of medical science and social concern has been created, to tackle the immense challenges and opportunities around demographic change and an ageing society.  The public and patients are involved at scale in a wide range of research into ageing, harnessing their insights, experience and knowledge in the development of innovations and services.  VOICE coordinates public involvement with a wide range of community-based organisations and currently involves over 3,000 people across the North East.  Over the last 12 months, over 600 individuals have been involved in 80 projects on ageing and chronic disease, co-developing and designing new models of service delivery and product development, including digital and assistive technology, telehealth and telecare through, for example, partnership with the EPSRC-funded Social Inclusion through the Digital Economy (SIDE) programme.  

 

Years Ahead: the NE Forum On Ageing is also based at Newcastle University. This is a partnership organisation with statutory (Association of North East Councils, 

Association of NE Directors of Adult Social Care, local councillors), Voluntary (Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society) and older people’s organisations from across the region, 

concerned with ageing and demographic change.  Years Ahead is a member of UKAFA (UK Advisory Forum on Ageing).  

 

Our NIHR SPCR PPI  approach also links, via our central FMS Engagement (Corner), with our other NIHR funded collaborations e.g. NIHR School for Public Health, our biomedical science colleagues in NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre on Ageing and Chronic Disease and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.  We also collaborate closely with other successful local PPI initiatives including the MRC Centre for Ageing and Vitality, and the MRC/Arthritis Research UK Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing (CIMA), and have long term collaborations with relevant voluntary sector organisations e.g. Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Stroke Association, Parkinson’s Society, Arthritis Care and Liver North.