A PRESTWICH doctor has been honoured with a prestigious award.

Dr Raymond Perrin, an osteopath and neuroscientist, picked up the Research and Practice Award given by the Institute of Osteopathy in their first ever national awards ceremony held at their annual convention in Surrey last month.

At a gala dinner and awards evening on November 21, Dr Perrin, whose clinic is based in Whittaker Lane, was given the the award for his 26 years of research into the physical diagnosis and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia, which is now the subject of a new NHS research trial at Wrightington Hospital, in Wigan.

He said: "To sum up how my research has changed the way I practise, I now run a clinic that combines very traditional osteopathic concepts with evidence-based techniques that are backed by cutting-edge science and ground-breaking medical discoveries.

"It makes every day in clinic demanding, challenging, exciting, and extremely rewarding.

"When I began my clinical research, I established a registered charitable trust, The Fund for Osteopathic Research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (FOR ME), which has so far raised over £400,000 and has paid university and hospital staff for research projects, including a large radiological study involving MR scanning at the University of Manchester.

"Unfortunately, my academic and research posts have always been honorary, so years of research have taken a huge financial toll on my income. "However, I feel that the satisfaction I gain from helping a bed-ridden patient back to health is infinitely more rewarding than any financial gain."