Research
UK health leaders unite to protect medical research
We’re one of more than 40 organisations across the UK health sector to have committed to urgent action to reverse the ‘alarming decline’ in clinical academic posts.
Clinical academics are NHS doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who split their time between treating patients and conducting research to find better ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases.
Unlike researchers who work solely in labs, or clinicians who focus only on patient care, clinical academics bridge both worlds – bringing the latest lifesaving scientific discoveries straight to the bedside.
Threat to patient care
Now a statement organised by the Academy of Medical Sciences and signed by leaders from UK universities, research funders, industry partners, the NHS and UK Government, addresses what experts describe as a threat to both patient care and the UK’s economic future.
A report published earlier this year revealed a six per cent decline in medically-qualified researchers since 2012, with senior lecturer positions falling by 24 per cent, whilst NHS consultant numbers have risen by over 50 per cent.
The situation is set to worsen, with a growing proportion of senior academics nearing retirement whilst early-career entrants continue to decline.
The widening gap threatens the UK’s capacity to maintain its position as a global leader in health research. Beyond the benefits to patients, medical research generates a 25p annual return on every £1 invested.
Urgent action needed
The statement of ambition and intent says urgent action is needed to increase the number of permanent clinical academic posts, year on year, to meet the needs of the nation’s health and economy.
This directly supports ambitions set out in the Government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan published in the summer. It also builds on recommendations from major reports commissioned by the Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research (OSCHR) which identified the urgent need for action to address the decline in permanent posts.
Signatories from organisations including us, the Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK and the Government’s Department of Health and Social Care as well as Russell Group universities warn that the decline will threaten both the discovery of new treatments and the quality of patient care.
The signatories have committed to action including supporting the creation of new posts for clinical academics, prioritising funding for new clinical academic posts and addressing challenges faced by underrepresented groups, including nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, ethnic minorities and women.
Our clinical director, Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, said: “The UK’s position as a global leader in medical research is at risk because of a broken pipeline for the clinical academic workforce. Healthcare professionals who combine clinical work with research and teaching play a critical role in developing new ways to deliver safe and effective care, improving our health service in the process, and making sure the next generation of clinical staff are trained.
“At the moment, this indispensable part of both the health and research ecosystems is under threat because the current medical academic workforce is ageing, with more people approaching retirement and too few entering at the early career stage. On top of this, in academic cardiology, women and people from an ethnic minority background remain severely underrepresented in senior positions. All this needs to urgently change if we are to ensure robust pipeline of talent, and retain skilled researchers in NHS embedded research for longer. The upcoming NHS workforce plan is a much-needed chance to turn this situation around.”