Announcing a New Era of Medical Research Funding
Charity joins Association of Medical Research Charities as an Introductory Member, marking a significant expansion of its work to improve outcomes for babies and families
It is with immense pride that the Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust announces the expansion of our work to now include funding medical research within the neonatal field.
In June this year, it was by a unanimous vote that the Board of Trustees decided to make this move. It represents the important growth of our charitable work. For many years, we have supported the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit at Medway Maritime Hospital, helping to provide equipment, facilities, resources and support that directly benefit premature and seriously ill newborn babies, and their families.
The Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust will now build on this work by supporting internal and external researchers undertaking high-quality medical research, with the aim of contributing to evidence in areas affecting neonatal outcomes. This will include the advancement of understanding causes, treatment and care, and parental experience.
As part of this development the charity has joined the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) as an introductory Member. This gives us a valuable connection to the UK’s medical research community and allows us to support its commitment to ensuring the research we will fund is conducted to the highest appropriate standards.
Dr Aung Soe, Chairman of the Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust, says:
“This is an incredibly exciting moment for us as a charity. Our roots will always be firmly within neonatal care and the supporting of patients at the OFNU, but this expansion recognises the vital role that medical research plays in improving care and outcomes for future generations. It gives us the opportunity to support researchers whose work could make a meaningful difference to babies and families well beyond our local community, while still keeping our longstanding commitment to those of the Medway and Swale area. Joining the AMRC as an Introductory Member is an important milestone for us, a real legacy moment.”
Over the last few months, the Charity has been developing a framework of robust policies and procedures to underpin the new research funding scheme and has also established a Research Advisory Committee. The Committee will bring specialist expertise to the assessment of research applications and help ensure that funding decisions are made fairly, transparently and in line with the Charity’s objectives.
Dan Liddiard will head the Research Advisory Committee, alongside his responsibilities as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. He comments:
“Even as someone outside of the medical profession, it is clear that research is fundamental to improving healthcare. Every advancement in neonatal medicine has the potential to change a child’s life and the experience of an entire family. That should never be forgotten and the importance of that should never be downplayed.
“As a parent who has experienced a NICU journey myself, being part of this new chapter in the Charity’s history is incredibly exciting and deeply meaningful. I know first-hand the incredible work carried out every day by the staff at the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit and the difference they make to babies and their families at what can be an incredibly difficult and uncertain time.
“The fact that our Charity now has the opportunity to support medical research and help shape the future of neonatal care is both humbling and inspiring. We are all delighted to begin this next phase of the Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust’s journey, and I personally look forward to working with my new Committee colleagues to make the most of this opportunity.”
The move into research funding does not replace the Charity’s longstanding commitment to the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit. Rather, it represents an opportunity to extend the Charity’s impact. Through this new chapter, the Charity hopes to support research that can help answer some of the unanswered questions in neonatal medicine and ultimately improve the lives of babies and families for generations to come.
The Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust is a registered charity supporting neonatal care and the wellbeing of babies and families. The Charity was established to support the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit at Medway Maritime Hospital and has a longstanding commitment to improving the experience and outcomes of babies requiring specialist neonatal care there.
The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) is the membership organisation of leading medical and health research charities in the UK. Its members fund research across a wide range of health conditions and areas of medical science.
The Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust has joined the AMRC as an Introductory Member as it develops its medical research funding programme.
