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The following statement is from Professor John Atherton and Professor Malcolm Reed, Co-Chairs of the Medical Schools Council:

“Medical schools welcome today’s call from the Academy of Medical Sciences for the relationship between universities and the NHS to be strengthened. Medical schools are at the centre of this relationship and strive to make clear its importance for training the future health workforce and – crucially – for UK research.

“The backbone of this relationship is clinical academics, who engage in research and teaching, and are employees of both the universities and hospitals trusts. The Medical Schools Council has stated that progression opportunities for clinical academics need to be improved if the UK is to retain its medical research base. The middle grades of clinical academia have seen a 21.6% decline in numbers since 2010 and the profile of the clinical academic workforce is ageing. 

“Within clinical academia, some specialties with historically low numbers of researchers, such as general practice, have seen modest increases in numbers. Others with already low number have seen reductions, such as psychiatry and pathology. The numbers we have in these different roles reflect the UK’s capacity to innovate in essential areas of healthcare.

“We need to make the case for clinical academia and for the benefits of research to patient care, both in the range of treatments available and in the efficiency of the NHS in delivering them. Today’s report is a necessary intervention and medical schools are committed to securing and expanding the pipeline of staff who make these amazing breakthroughs.”

The report can be seen on the Academy of Medical Sciences website.