UT, North Estonia Medical Centre and UT Hospital start broad-based cooperation

On 28 September, the University of Tartu, North Estonia Medical Centre and Tartu University Hospital signed a trilateral agreement to jointly conduct clinical research and participate in international research cooperation networks, as well as develop new research-based methods for treatment and diagnostics, and specialised care.

“Considering the small size of Estonia’s science landscape, it is extremely necessary to make joint efforts to develop our medical science, because this enables us to avoid unnecessary compartmentalisation, improve the quality of research and coordinate resources more efficiently,” said Terje Peetso, management board member of North Estonia Medical Centre. She says cooperation with the University of Tartu and Tartu University Hospital has been productive, and the recently signed agreement gives an even more solid framework to the scientific cooperation. In addition, according to Peetso, it contributes to both domestic and cross-border cooperation.

Also Urmas Siigur, management board member of Tartu University Hospital, speaks highly of the agreement. “In a country the size of Estonia, broad-based trilateral cooperation between regional hospitals and the university is extremely important and welcomed. This area, if we act in a coordinated and calculated way, has a huge development potential and the beneficiaries are our patients and, more widely, the Estonian medical science,” Urmas Siigur added.

The cooperation will be coordinated by the National Centre for Translational and Clinical Research (CTM), whose leading partner is the University of Tartu and the responsible person at the University of Tartu is Professor Külli Kingo. According to Dr Katrin Kaarna, executive manager of the centre, it is necessary to provide the best possible infrastructure for domestic cooperation all over Estonia to medical doctors, resident doctors, doctoral students, as well as researchers of biomedicine and translational medicine.

The partners’ common goals include conducting research studies for the development of products and services used in medicine, and observational studies for the improvement of epidemiological data, training medical staff to raise the employees’ qualification, making health data more accessible and manageable, and active participation in global networks.

North Estonia Medical Centre is one of Estonia’s leading hospitals committed to professionalism, caringness and responsibility, as well as openness and cooperativeness. North Estonia Medical Centre uses evidence-based methods in its work; its operation is based on good interdisciplinary teamwork. The hospital is open to innovation. The high quality of treatment in the hospital is expressed by outstanding performance indicators, quality indicators that are comparable to other recognised medical centres, and excellent treatment outcomes.