‘A Clinically Led Approach and Delivery with NHS Managers’: Curia launches its Life Sciences Industrial Strategy with insights from top-level stakeholders in the sector.
Following several meetings with thought leaders and stakeholders from across the Life Sciences sector, policy institute Curia’s Life Sciences Industrial Strategy Programme for a New Government was launched last month. The first inquiry session focussed on ‘A Clinically Led Approach and Delivery with NHS Managers’. Chaired by former Chief Executive of NICE, Professor Gillian Leng, former Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at NHS England, Dr Keith Ridge and former Health Minister, Professor Ann Keen, keynote speakers joined the Health, Care and Life Sciences Research Group. These included:
- Nicola Perrin MBE, Chief Executive, Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)
- Dr Nick White, Chief Medical Officer, Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin NHS Trust
- Sir Bruce Keogh, Chair, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Sir Julian Hartley, Chief Executive, NHS Providers
Research and Resources: A Mismatch?
Nicola Perrin began the meeting by highlighting the difficulty that the NHS has in embedding research into their work. The NHS, facing many challenges, has gone into a vicious cycle of survival, making sure that it delivers its statutory, basic requirements, but not having the resources to properly consider and then implement research. As Perrin said:
“Everyone is so burnt out with backlogs, with strikes, with winter pressures and everything else. So, research is often seen as that nice to have, but not really an essential part of the day job”.
She continued by highlighting the importance and benefits of ensuring that research is properly incorporated into NHS work, with these including better results for patients and better staff satisfaction.
Clinical Alignment with Present and the Future Priorities
Dr Nick White followed by discussing ways in which a Life Sciences Industrial Strategy would need to not only align with current priorities, but also align (or be adaptable to) the NHS’ changing, long-term priorities, to truly be a clinically led approach. Dr White mentioned the current alignment of finance, performance and quality within the NHS, and the opportunity to focus on long-term conditions outside of hospital settings. As he said:
“The UK has a high and rising number of people with multiple conditions. People are spending a greater proportion of their lives, with a long term condition, which impacts some quality of life compared to even a decade ago, and increasingly, people having more and more multiple long term conditions”.
For instance, increasing diagnoses of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, diabetes, arthritis, and mental health conditions mean that the life sciences sector must be involved, supporting the NHS in tackling these conditions and driving down the inequalities we see in treatment of these conditions.
Research and Resources: More Mismatch?
Sir Julian Hartley quickly returned to Perrin’s point about how best to bring research into the NHS, and how high pressure on finances, quality of delivery and clinical governance mean that few resources are dedicated to research. Hinting at a solution (the full recommendations of speakers and chairs will be made available to members of the Research Group and public sector workers), Hartley points out that:
“The importance of engaging across the big anchor institutions with a real focus on research and innovation is fundamental”.
The Public and the Private: Attracting Clinical Investment
Sir Bruce Keogh rounded off the opening presentations by drawing attention to the need and opportunity of investing in the NHS. Looking at ‘5 Fs‘, Keogh highlights the need for Focused priorities, Functionality of the NHS within the wider context of the national and global economy and health industry, Financial considerations specifically on inwards investment and new funding models for new technologies such as cell and gene therapies, Freedoms for specific areas of the NHS (allowing for greater subsidiarity within the NHS itself) and finally Formulating high-level strategies to be applicable to front line clinicians, thus ensuring a clinically-led approach within the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy
Health, Care and Life Sciences Research Group
As the Research Group continues the first phase of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy Programme (and looks into launching similar work on oncology), we invite thought leaders to get involved.
We thank lead sponsors of the Programme: IQVIA and Genomics Plc.
Curia’s interim report will be launched after Easter, where we will be inviting supporters of Curia and members of the Research Group to attend. You can sign up to the Curia Newsletter here to be kept informed about our events and reports. Furthermore, members of the Research Group will gain access to the full work of the Programme, including the full recording of the inquiry session.
Finally, with the aim to showcase how to turn policy into practice, the Curia team are always interested in receiving case studies of best practice that may feed into this work. If you or a colleague might know about a case where policy was effectively delivered into practice, please send details of the case study with learnings to team@curiauk.com. These will be shared with our Research Group Advisory Board, leaders in the NHS/public sector and Health, Care and Life Sciences Research Group members.