Clinical Academics
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee will hold the first evidence session of its inquiry into clinical academics in the NHS. This session will hear from three practising clinical academics.
The session will explore the condition of the current clinical academic workforce. The committee has heard in seminars and private sessions about the value of clinical academics, who combine their clinical roles with conducting medical research, but it has also heard that this important workforce is currently under threat. Many clinical academics voluntarily suspended their research projects to return to full-time practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is unclear how many were able to resume research given the continued pressures on the NHS. According to a report from the academy of medical sciences, the clinical academic workforce is declining, both as a proportion of consultants and in absolute terms. The session will seek to determine the causes of the pressures on clinical academics and what, if anything, needs to change to improve the situation.
Meeting details
Possible question areas
- The specific value that clinical academics add to medical research which could not otherwise be obtained
- Whether the clinical academic workforce is currently threatened by pressures on the NHS and the causes for the decline in numbers
- What should be done to ensure that clinical academics have dedicated time for their research and an appealing career structure
- How to harmonise and coordinate the interests of the different parties involved across academia and the NHS
- Whether the NHS is reaching its full potential as a testbed and resource for medical research