'Desperately needed' research hub at the LGH calls for federal support

The development of a research centre for the Launceston General Hospital has been in the works for several years, spearheaded by Northern medical charity the Clifford Craig Foundation.

While a Memorandum of Understanding exists between the state government and the foundation to provide $2 million over five years, Clifford Craig chief executive Peter Milne said the MoU only represented half of what was required, with the cost of establishing and operating the centre estimated to be $800,000 per annum.

With the foundation's primary role raising and allocating funds for medical research, Mr Milne said the federal government should meet the state halfway, and has sought Commonwealth support to establish the centre.

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"We've asked the federal government for a $4 million package, that's $2 million for the operational cost for five years to match the state government, then $2 million to fit the centre out," he said.

"The foundation will still make a commitment of funding of up to $1 million a year to fund research projects with all the bells and whistles, but it's really a three-way partnership, primarily with the state and federal [government] sharing the operational costs."

As part of the LGH master plan, 1300 square metres have been allocated for the research centre in the Northern Integrated Care Service building, which for the first time would bring all the hospital's research activity under one roof.

The centre will include a management and governance structure through the creation of four new Tasmanian Health Service roles including a director of research, business and site governance coordinator, clinical trials manager and research nurse co-ordinator.

The daily management of the hospital's research activity would be handed over to the dedicated team, allowing the Clifford Craig Foundation to focus on raising and allocating research funds.

The need for a medical research centre at the LGH was identified in 2016, after the foundation commissioned KP Health to develop a Northern Tasmanian Strategic Framework for Clinical Research.

As part of the framework, KP Health produced a report which identified several concerns about the leadership and governance of research at the LGH.

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It found clinicians conducted research with "little support" from the hospital. It also identified a need for further investment into research, finding it would provide significant benefits for the hospital and the community.

The report found the LGH had no recording system for research being carried out at the hospital and was unable to complete a review of the clinical research being undertaken at the hospital due to a lack of information.

Without an administrative system, much of the research at the LGH has been managed by Clifford Craig - a role not traditionally held by a funding body - something Mr Milne said a dedicated centre would address.

"The hospital has no person responsible for research, there's no governance and no coordination of research and it's all kind of fallen back on top of the Clifford Craig Foundation," he said.

"We came to be perceived as the hospital's research body, which is nice, but we are actually the community body."

With high rates of chronic illness and an ageing population, health services are one of the state's top employers. However, recruiting and retaining health professionals is also one of the state's top challenges.

With the LGH master plan and the Calvary co-located hospital expected to increase the capacity of the THS, attracting more staff to the region continues to be a top priority.

Retired orthopaedic surgeon and past president of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons Dr John Batten said the benefit of a purpose run facility was its ability to attract doctors, nurses and other health professionals into northern Tasmania, while also producing tangible health outcomes for the community.

"A Research Foundation is very important to a medical community anywhere whether that be in a big town or a small town, but most particularly regional areas," he said.

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"Research attracts good clinicians because clinicians like to solve problems in clinical matters, and therefore in a regional area, it'll attract quality doctors and retain them because they can continue to do research throughout their clinical career.

Mr Milne said, with greater research capacity, came greater access to research funding and clinical trials, and pointed to a research centre developed in QLD at the Townsville Hospital as an example of what the LGH could achieve.

He said the LGH was about 10 years behind the Townsville Hospital and Health Services research centre, which was bringing in hundreds of projects and millions of dollars in grant funding each year.

As identified by KP Health, the lack of support for clinicians undertaking research was a concern, and one that has been echoed by two of the state's top doctors, orthopaedic surgeon Dr Jonathan Mulford and infectious diseases specialist Professor Katie Flanagan.

Professor Flanagan said the research model proposed by Clifford Craig was something the LGH desperately needed and would address existing shortfalls.

"A well-coordinated and effective research centre will help local clinicians to advance health research locally and translate their results into better health treatments for our patients," she said.

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Dr Mulford said clinician-researchers had been concerned with the uncoordinated and unsupported approach to research by the hospital for some time.

"This proposal by the Clifford Craig Foundation will enable the "one-stop-shop" operational support we have been seeking and greatly improve the ability for hospital clinicians to conduct clinical research," he said.

The MoU between the foundation and the Tasmanian government has locked in the state's commitment, while federal support has been forthcoming from both sides of the political aisle.

Bass Liberal MHR Bridget Archer said she fully supported the development of the business case presented by Clifford Craig.

"I have been in discussions with Clifford Craig over this worthy project for a number of years," she said. "Supporting better health outcomes can come in a variety of forms including world-class research which Clifford Craig has been delivering for many years."

Labor's candidate for Bass Ross Hart said he was supportive of the proposal, and pointed to its potential to help address workforce shortfalls in the THS.

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