MP Layla Moran discusses Oxford mental health hospital plans

Layla Moran recently toured the Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility (OH CRF), based at the Headington hospital.

The facility, which opened in 2011, played a role in the AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccine trials during the pandemic, seeing more than 500 participants.

Ms Moran, who is also chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, was there to discuss the Warneford Park Development plans.

The Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility is based at Warneford Hospital in Headington (Image: Marc West) This project aims to create a new mental health hospital, surrounded by a research and innovation hub, to tackle key issues in brain health.

During her visit, Ms Moran was shown around the facilities by the facility's clinical lead, Dr Katharine Smith, and director, Professor Andrea Cipriani.

She met with specialist staff, viewed the sleep study suite, and discussed new OH CRF studies.

She also saw the newly refurbished CRF lab, which has expanded capacity to process blood, saliva, and cerebrospinal fluid samples from research study participants.

Ms Moran said: "It was a privilege to meet the team at the Warneford Hospital to hear about the latest studies and learn about the very latest work being done to find new treatments.

"High quality, specialist mental health care is critically important and too often neglected.

"I was pleased to hear about the success of the Community Mental Health Hubs but it is also clear that we need capital investment into our research facilities and clinical settings to deliver the very best care that patients deserve."

Professor Cipriani added: "In 2022, we were awarded over £4 million by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

"Out of 28 CRFs funded in the whole country, only three received more funding than the previous five-year cycle, and the OH CRF was one of them.

"We are the only CRF in the UK entirely dedicated to delivering studies in mental health and cognition.

"This is a huge responsibility towards patients, carers, and clinicians, but also taxpayers and policymakers.

"It was for us a fantastic opportunity to meet our local MP and start a discussion about how we can contribute even more to the advancement of mental healthcare, nationally and globally."

Dr Smith said: "It was great to be able to host the visit to the OH CRF to show our current facilities and vision for future developments.

"We continue to expand our portfolio of clinical research studies with novel treatments for mental and cognitive disorders.

"It was fantastic that Layla could meet some of our research participants and members of the ENGAGE group to hear about their experiences."