Clinical academics, research funders and the NHS
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee will hold the third evidence session of its inquiry into clinical academics in the NHS. This session will hear from the Chair of the Office for the Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR), the Rt Hon Lord Kakkar.
The session will explore the current state of clinical research in the NHS. The committee has heard in previous evidence 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. 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. More broadly, we have heard that the ability for clinicians to engage with research across the NHS is declining. Regius Professor Sir John Bell recently told the House of Commons that “our clinical research environment is actually much, much worse than it’s ever been in my living memory.” The Committee will explore the causes of these problems and seek any solutions.
Meeting details
Possible question areas
- The role of the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR) and its current work
- 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 secure the pipeline of future training for clinical academics in the NHS to arrest the decline
- The state of the clinical research base within the NHS and what can be done to improve the status of research within the NHS