Three leading London hospitals and a major university have joined forces to become the country's largest science research centre.

The partnership is between Guys and St Thomas', King's College Hospital, South London and the Maudsley and King's College, London.

The combined expertise of all four institutions will make it quicker for patients to receive the most uptodate care, including mental health treatment and complex surgery.

This is the second time a university has formed a partnership with a hospital to create an academic health sciences centre, after Imperial College, London merged with two other hospitals last year.

The university formed a new medical super-centre with Hammersmith hospital and St Mary's and was rebranded as Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

The King's College joint research venture comes as London faces health reforms under proposals drawn up by health minister Lord Darzi.

These include the downgrading and merging of maternity and A& E services in some parts of London and officials upgrading them in others.

This has put hospital trusts under pressure to demonstrate they are runningservices efficiently and meeting patient needs.

Lord Darzi has already indicated that he wants scientists to work more closely with doctors to make clinical trials easier.

The King's College partnership is believed to be the first in the world to include a mental health trust. But the union differs in that all partners will maintain their independence although clinical trials will be jointly funded by a central fund.

Scientists will work alongside doctors to bring medical breakthroughs closer to patients on the wards.

The hope is that the academic health sciences centre will attract high-profile pharmaceutical companies looking to market medical breakthroughs.

Rick Trainor, principal of King's College London, said: "We want to be at the forefront of academic health science, building on our reputation as a major force for innovation, research and delivering real improvements in patient care."

Health minister Ben Bradshaw said: "This exciting development brings together world leading expertise in both physical and mental health care."

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