Dr Rakesh Modi takes on a new role as one of two GP Clinical leads for research within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
Dr Modi is a Wellcome PhD Fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Primary Care Unit and a GP in Cambourne, performing extended hours shifts in St Neots. He has just been awarded the Royal College of General Practitioners / NIHR’s First 5 research prize for his important contributions to the SAFER trial, which is a large programme of applied clinical research investigating primary care screening to detect atrial fibrillation.
The new role will give Dr Modi a powerful opportunity to champion research in primary care in the emerging Integrated Care Partnership in the South of the geography.
We have so much research and clinical expertise at the Universities of Cambridge, East Anglia and Anglia Ruskin and our practices look after a million patients. I hope to help foster a culture where research is seen as an integral part of regular general practice and policymaking, and where anyone can take part in a variety of ways.”
– Dr Modi
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group is one of the largest CCGs in England with a population of over one million, 85 GP practices and a healthcare budget of around £1.3 billion per annum.
The CCG Research & Development Team administer National Institute of Health Research research grants to the value of £8.4 million and this year deployed research capability funding of £650,000 to support research capacity and capability. The R&D Team support applied primary care clinical research across the region, aiming to improve the quality of services and patient outcomes.
Research in primary care generates critical evidence to help deliver and guide priorities for national and regional community-based healthcare, complementing discovery science and research in specialist settings.
In primary care, where most patient contacts begin and end, researchers have the opportunity to investigate the full spectrum of disease, the long trajectory of disease, and patient subjects who are representative of the total population, as Professor Richard Hobbs explained in 2019.
Dr Modi will work with the CCG’s Research and Development Team to build research capacity and capability, provide a clinical frontline view on research grants at the design stage and contribute to funding decisions and opportunities.
Dr Modi said: “Primary care research matters to all of us – it’s a tool to improve the wellbeing of everyone under everyday circumstances. This is an opportunity to make a difference by being at the research, strategy, and clinical frontlines in our region.”
Viv Shaw, Head of the Research and Development Team at the CCG, said: “We are so pleased to have Dr Modi on board because of his passion and enthusiasm for research, evidence-based practice and engagement; and his experience and his insights into enabling clinical research. Dr Modi will be a great asset and will help us to achieve a thriving environment for primary care research.”
Find out more
Dr Rakesh Modi – Department of Public Health and Primary Care (cam.ac.uk)
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group Research and Development Team
Queries: Lucy Lloyd, Communications, Primary Care Unit, University of Cambridge