If you work in UK health and social care (directly or indirectly - NHS, medical research, patient charities etc) you may well be subscribed to one or more sub-groups within 'CHAIN' (Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network). It's a curated set of thematic bulletins which sends out information about reports, events and job ads. Each theme (e.g. diabetes) has its own list of resources. You can email the central team and they'll share your information news to the relevant sub-groups. It's ridiculously useful.
Yesterday I was quite surprised to get an email from CHAIN telling me that the Department for Health & Social Care, which funds it, wants to unfund it believing it to be of 'questionable utility'. Absolute scenes, as they say. I'm not sure what they're proposing to replace it with, or how setting up some new thing would save money, but I think interfering with something that's worked well for 29 years is a bad idea.
There's no mention of this DHSC consultation on the DHSC consultations page.
Below is my emailed response, and some further info below that. Fingers crossed CHAIN is kept. If you want to write in please do so before 28 February 2026, to dhsc.publicenquiries@dhsc.gov.uk (and cc enquiries@chain-network.org.uk).
Please do not defund CHAIN. I had missed the news that it was at risk until today and am really quite surprised by the idea. I strongly disagree that it is of 'questionable utility' and wonder if it is simply less visible to you and that its use needs to be made more explicit. To that end, here's how I make use of it.
I find CHAIN incredibly useful and have shared material to and from it in several ways -
• I've shared work I've been doing with CHAIN colleagues and have recommended colleagues (previously at Diabetes UK and now at QMUL) do likewise
• I've shared info received from CHAIN with colleagues at Queen Mary, on the psci-com mailing list and beyond
• I regularly recommend that others (non-colleagues) who contact me about how best to distribute their information share it with CHAIN
• I learn about new reports, events and more generally just 'hear about things in and around various areas of interest' which is good for my own CPD
I have run psci-com, a large (4.5k subs) mailing list for science communicators (scicomm) / public engagement with science professionals (PES) since 2012, consequently people often get in touch to ask about distribution routes for events, resources and job ads. Whenever anything patient-engagement comes to the list I make sure the sender knows about CHAIN and sporadically add info to messages that go to the list, some examples below. I maintain a page of communities of practice for scicomm / PES and healthcomm folk and CHAIN has been on that list since I created the page in 2021.
Last week I forwarded a CHAIN message about a PPI in Action webinar with a friend working in a similar area - (1) to tell them about the event and (2) to highlight that they might want to share their own future events with CHAIN. Friend was delighted to find out about the event as it's very relevant for them and colleagues.
Earlier in January I recommended that an email coming to the psci-com list was also shared with CHAIN: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa-jisc.exe?A2=PSCI-COM;27590bf3.2601
Here are a couple of other examples of me drawing the psci-com list's attention to CHAIN on an ad hoc basis -
February 2025: Patient & Public Involvement / Journal of Research Involvement and Engagement Fwd: CHAIN targeted message: a useful resource
May 2023: Oxford: Fwd: Job opportunity: Senior Programme Manager - Community Engagement in Global Health Research
Back in July 2025 I forwarded a CHAIN email about funding for Public Engagement in Health Data Research with faculty colleagues who produce a round-up of new funding for data projects, and highlighted CHAIN as a useful resource for them to keep an eye on.
I've been part of CHAIN since the mid 2000s after reading about it in Prof Trisha Greenhalgh's excellent book on critical appraisal 'How to read a paper'. At the time I was working as a Science Information Officer at Diabetes UK (a mix of science communication, public engagement, supporting patient in getting involved in research, and making sense of evidence) and signed up immediately. I now work at QMUL in the computer science department but often in projects allied to health, for example a large EPSRC project on the safety of medical devices, another on the use of Bayesian maths in medical decision-making tools and more generally on devices and tech for disabled people, and people with rheumatoid arthritis.
I think this important resource should be preserved and protected. A really useful feature is that emails are targeted to reach particular sub-groups. It's excellent and helpful. It is often the case that I suggest CHAIN to someone, and then a short while later receive a copy of the email that they've passed to CHAIN for distribution!
Thank you
Jo
Jo Brodie, Public Engagement Co-ordinator, QMEECS
Links for further information:
1. Brief info on CHAIN: https://www.chain-network.org.uk/documents/brief_intro_to_CHAIN.pdf
2.Snapshot report: https://www.chain-network.org.uk/documents/Latest_analysis_of_CHAIN_membership.pdf
3. Compendium of feedback: https://www.chain-network.org.uk/documents/Compendium_of_recent_feedback.pdf
4. Recent messages delivered on behalf of CHAIN members and NIHR’: https://www.chain-network.org.uk/documents/examples_of_recent_messages_disseminated.pdf
I'm reposting the content of (1) below.
CHAIN (standing for Contacts, Help, Advice & Information Network), sponsored by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is a successful online mutual support network for people working in health and social care.
The Network originated 29 years ago in the NHS Research & Development programme and has since grown into a not-for-profit international online community of about 15,000 people who are willing to share freely their knowledge and experience with each other. CHAIN is multi-professional and cross organisational, designed to connect health and social care practitioners, researchers, managers and educators.
Membership of CHAIN is free, and members may join the network, update their records or leave at any time.
Key benefits of CHAIN membership are:
- Access to a searchable online directory of all members and their interests
- The ability to post questions or seek advice from a rich and diverse pool of members
- Receiving intelligence on resources, activities, events and opportunities relevant to one's interests
There are more than 75 sub-groups and special interest groups within CHAIN, including long-established groups such as those focusing on Dementia, Diabetes, Stroke, Obesity, Patient & Public Involvement and more recent ones focusing on Social Care Research & Evaluation, Rural, Remote & Coastal Health & Social Care, Diagnostic technologies, Active or Aspiring Innovators, and AI in Health & Social Care.
For further information and to join CHAIN visit: www.chain-network.org.uk
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