CPFT opens new research suite in Peterborough for equal access
CPFT’s Research and Development team have opened a new clinical research suite at the Cavell Centre, to bring more research opportunities to people using health services in Peterborough and North Fenland.
The new hub for research in the north was opened by CPFT’s Medical Director Cathy Walsh and the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion. Colleagues from across the Trust representing different health professions and services met with CPFT’s research team and health partners to join the celebration and showcase of the facilities.
Cathy Walsh said: “I am delighted to officially open the clinical research suite and welcome the research team, Trust colleagues and healthcare partners to their new home in the north. Research is essential to guide excellent care and improve treatments and therapies, and the advancement of clinical practice in all professions at CPFT. On behalf of the Trust’s clinical teams, I hope that this expansion will help our staff turn more research questions into studies in the north and enable us to address health inequalities for underserved communities and find new routes to recovery for a wider population.”
This is a significant milestone for the CPFT Research team who aim to embed high quality research in every aspect of clinical care and offer everyone using Trust services the opportunity to take part in research to improve care and treatment. Their new base will ensure that people in Peterborough and the north have fair and equal access to research to improve health outcomes, with study visits at a convenient and safe location linked - by specialist staff - to CPFT’s research unit in Fulbourn.
Dr Ben Underwood, CPFT’s Research and Development Director said: “Ever since we started our very first research studies in dementia at the Windsor Research Unit in Fulbourn around 15 years ago, we have aspired to offer research to the whole population that CPFT serves. It is fantastic to see our new research base at the Cavell Centre officially opened today, after many years of searching for the right facilities to embed research in clinical care in the north. As someone bought up in Huntingdon and the Fens, it is personally very important to me that we reach communities all over Cambridgeshire to give them the chance to take part in research. It is fair and will also lead to better results. Thank you to everyone at CPFT who has made this possible, and - as always, the many volunteers who take part in our research.”
Over the last decade, CPFT has run over 1600 studies to improve care and treatment for a wide range of physical and mental health conditions, from dementias and common emotional disorders to rare diseases. The CPFT Research team is one of the UK’s top performers for recruitment to studies and a centre of excellence for many global research projects, bringing groundbreaking clinical trials to East Anglia.
Steve Grange, Chief Executive at CPFT said: “This is a proud milestone moment for CPFT as we expand our research provision to serve communities in Peterborough and North Fenland, and I am pleased to see the team establishing their service for local people and staff at the Cavell Centre. Our new strategy talks about CPFT being a Trust that learns constantly with our key partners, shares generously, and turns evidence into better outcomes. I am proud of colleagues who step forward with ideas, who test new approaches, and who help use our research as a creator of knowledge that improves care far beyond our own organisation and across many generations of local people.”
CPFT provides community physical health services for older people and adults with long-term conditions, mental health services, children’s community services in Peterborough, and learning disability services. The Trust is also renowned for its research and development work and, in 2025, was awarded Teaching Partner status by the University of Cambridge and became a proud member of the prestigious University Hospital Association.