Health board still paying for research with unclear patient benefit

A health board is continuing to pay money to a university research centre several months after a critical report which said the payments were not directly benefitting patients.

Figures show that the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board was due to pay Bangor University £110,686 this financial year to fund two researchers in the Centre for Mental Health and Society.

An internal NHS report, written in January, said “it is unclear what services the health board are receiving and paying for, and how beneficial it is to the population of north Wales.”

The health board said it was addressing the concerns, and looking at improvements in the way it works with universities and research institutions.

The agreement between the health board and Bangor University was set up as a five-year contract in 2012, but was not reviewed and allowed to continue.

The internal report said that by September 2025, over £4m of NHS money had been paid to the university, but “the health board cannot demonstrate that it has received value for money from the agreement”.

The health and social care watchdog Llais said those concerns are still not being acted upon fast enough.

Geoff Ryall-Harvey, regional director for North Wales, said: “I would have expected a serious sit down and look at what was being bought with that money to decide whether the agreement should continue.

“It doesn’t appear that’s been done.

“NHS money is limited, and health boards have to get best value for money out of that – there is a procedure to make sure that research is relevant locally.

“I’d very much like to see what people in North Wales are getting for that £110,000.”

The Centre for Mental Health and Society is part of Bangor University, but is based in Wrexham, using offices belonging to the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The health board said that current research topics are: “students’ experience in prison, mental health outcomes and opiate use in primary care.”

Teresa Owen, Interim Deputy CEO said that “research, development and innovation (RDI) is an important element of the work of university health boards”.

“The health board maintains good relationships with academic institutions, including Bangor University.

“We recognise the importance of good governance around research collaborations and we are addressing concerns raised in the internal audit review.

“As part of that process we are commissioning an external review of our RDI function, which will also inform the strengthening of governance in this area.”

Both the NHS and the university have reviewed the agreement and say there was no evidence of any fraud or misconduct in the way it was set up and has operated.

A spokeswoman for Bangor University said: “The Centre for Mental Health and Society focuses on research that has a direct application to improve the mental well-being of the general population or to improve mental health care.

“The university remains committed to working constructively with the health board and will engage in any discussions or review processes should its involvement be requested.”