What the Largest Health Research Programme Will Bring to the UK
Our Future Health, the UK’s largest health research programme, will begin opening clinics across Wales from 24 September, offering more than 70,000 appointments over the next year.
The first clinics in Wales will be located in Boots stores in Bridgend, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea, and Wrexham, with plans to open around 20 clinics across the country by September 2025.
This initiative aims to revolutionize the prevention, detection, and treatment of conditions like dementia, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and stroke. With a target of up to five million volunteers nationwide, the programme seeks to build one of the most comprehensive health databases ever assembled.
During their clinic visit, volunteers will provide a blood sample and undergo basic health measurements, including blood pressure and cholesterol checks. In the future, participants may also receive information on their risk of certain diseases and have the chance to participate in advanced research studies.
The proportion of adults in Wales living with major illnesses is projected to rise from nearly 1 in 6 in 2019 to close to 1 in 5 by 2040, bringing the estimated total to 556,000—an increase of 137,000 people. Our Future Health aims to uncover new insights into the prevention, detection, and treatment of diseases affecting Wales.
The programme is inviting individuals near the new clinic locations to participate. Anyone over 18 can join by signing up online at ourfuturehealth.org.uk, completing a health questionnaire, and booking a short clinic appointments.
Rhodri Thomas, Head of British Heart Foundation Cymru, said: “We are delighted to welcome the first clinics in the Our Future Health programme to Wales. The opportunity to use health data for research will help us to better understand heart and circulatory disease, which currently affects around 340,000 people in Wales. In addition, the information collected could help us find new ways to prevent, detect and fight these devastating diseases earlier.”
Dr Raghib Ali, Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officer of Our Future Health, said: “Our Future Health is a programme for the whole of the UK and so we’re delighted to be launching recruitment in Wales. We will be inviting people in Wales to join our programme, giving them the opportunity to learn more about their own health and help to improve the health of everyone in Wales and reduce inequalities. Researchers in Wales will also be able to apply to use our resource to make new discoveries about diseases, including those that pose significant challenges in Wales.”
Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Sir Frank Atherton, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the Our Future Health programme to Wales. As the UK’s largest ever health research programme, this research will help researchers find ways to prevent, detect and treat diseases earlier which has the potential to improve healthcare and outcomes for the population in Wales and right across the UK.”
Director of Health and Care Research Wales, Professor Kieran Walshe said: “We welcome the news that clinics are now opening in Wales as part of this pioneering programme. During the pandemic we saw the power of a collective effort to find solutions to tackle Covid-19. Our Future Health galvanises the same power by asking volunteers across Wales to participate, to better understand a range of health conditions which will lead to prevention, earlier diagnosis and more targeted treatments”.
