Chief medical officer says pharmaceutical and MedTech industries 'critical' to the future of the NHS
NHS organisations urged to appoint a board-level director in charge of research in a bid to inject cash into the health service coffers.
Speaking at last week's NHS Confederation annual conference in Manchester, Dame Sally Davies, who is also chief scientific advisor to the Department of Health, said England was only just growing its reputation in the life sciences sector and needed to boost the opportunities for clinical research further.
The more patients we get into trials, the more money will come to you to support that endeavour. We can get a profit out of working in this area
She claimed that by improving access to trials, the NHS would not only increase opportunities for employment in the pharmaceutical and MedTech industries, but would also make millions of pounds that could go towards improving health outcomes and access to innovative treatments.
She said: "We are all being challenged to deliver improvements and we need research and researchers to drive this. We now have a world-class infrastructure in the NHS for clinical research and 12% of cancer patients now go into a study, compared to 2-3% in the USA. Patients like it and we get access earlier to cutting-edge cancer drugs. The more patients we get into trials, the more money will come to you to support that endeavour. We can get a profit out of working in this area."
Claiming research had historically been 'fragmented, slow and of poor quality', she said this needed to change to provide the evidence base the NHS will need to justify spending moving forward, particularly on pharmaceuticals.
"The evidence so far shows that teams that do research give the best quality care," she added.
We are in this together to improve the health of our public and it is science and research that will prove to you that you will have a return on your investment, and that it's worth doing
"We are attractive to the life sciences industry because of our population, which is socially and ethnically diverse. But we have to keep up the battle. Why not appoint a director at board level with a responsibility for promoting and supporting research?"
She said the person in the post should examine the trust's metrics on study initiation and delivery and develop a plan for improvement.
"This is important to all of us," she told the conference. "We need the evidence, patients want to join in trials, and we need the life sciences industry to stay in the UK and work with us. We are in this together to improve the health of our public and it is science and research that will prove to you that you will have a return on your investment, and that it's worth doing."