A new report published by the The Academy of Medical Sciences has highlighted a “crisis” within the NHS, revealing that staff are finding it increasingly difficult to find time for research.
The report calls on leaders in universities, the NHS and government to make “urgent changes” to protect and enhance research in the NHS, which over the last 70 years has discovered penicillin as a drug and invented Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners among other things, highlighting the importance of it’s survival.
Other results showed that only 0.4% of GPs and 0.1% of nursing, midwifery and other health professionals had research as part of their role in 2017.
The Academy calls for “immediate action” by giving staff extra time, a system that it proposes should begin by running an estimated £25 million pilot scheme to allow one in five consultants to have one day a week of their time protected for research in ten hospitals across the UK.
The scheme, according to plan, should become cost neutral or even save money in the longer term by “improving recruitment and retention of NHS staff, reducing spending on agency staff, and increasing research funding from life sciences companies.”
Protecting and strengthening research is a “win-win situation for patients, the NHS, Universities and our economy”, commented professor Sir Robert Lechler, president of the Academy.
“Research is the tonic the NHS needs right now,” he continued, “There is increasing evidence that shows that patients treated in research active hospitals get better quality of care, even if they are not taking part in a research project.
“Evidence also suggests that including research in medical roles makes it easier to attract and keep the best doctors. Research can also provide a coping mechanism to avoid burnout in NHS staff, so could make a dent in the £480 million yearly NHS spend on agency staff.”
Further to the findings, the report revealed that many NHS Trusts see research as “nice to have”, despite the number of medical clinical academics having decreased from 7.5% to 4.2% of NHS medical consultants from 2004 to 2017.
