Review of clinical academic careers in healthcare science

HEE, in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Scientific Officer, is looking for a supplier to undertake a review of joint NHS and academic posts for healthcare scientists to stimulate and promote clinical academic careers (CAC).

HEE has a statutory duty to promote research and a Mandate deliverable to promote clinical academic careers. In 2014 HEE published its first Research and Innovation Strategy which set out how we would:

- Create an education and training system that is evidence based and underpinned by research and innovation
- Build the capacity and capability of our current and future workforce to embrace and actively engage with research and innovation.

Furthermore, HEE published a Clinical Academic Careers Framework which set out an overarching structure to develop the clinical academic workforce for patient benefit; and a consolidated programme for non-medical healthcare professions.

The HEE/NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic (ICA) programme was launched in 2014 to allow registered non-medical healthcare professionals – including healthcare scientists – the opportunity to develop a clinical academic career.

HEE wishes to commission an in depth review to provide a clearer understanding of the current landscape for healthcare scientists in terms of joint posts and tangible next steps to address the barriers and maximise opportunities to increase the number of joint appointments. In addition it will support the acceleration in identification and uptake of clinical research findings in areas of strategic priority to the NHS system including personalised medicine, genomics and antimicrobial resistance.

The review should provide:

- A map of joint NHS and academic posts held by healthcare scientists in England.
- Exemplar case studies covering the range of healthcare science specialities.
- A benefits analysis of joint clinical academic appointments at a professional, organisation and system level.
- An analysis of enablers and gaps in current system support infrastructure.
- Challenges and barriers to joint positions.
- The impact of funding streams such as the HEE/NIHR ICA pathway on joint appointments.
- Areas of opportunity, with a focus on areas of strategic priority to the NHS system including personalised medicine, genomics and antimicrobial resistance.
- A set of recommendations to enable a systematic and sustainable establishment of joint appointments.

The initial findings will be presented at the Chief Scientific Officer National Conference (6 and 7 March 2017) to ensure professional consultation and will form part of a workshop specifically focussed on clinical academic careers. The feedback will then be used to inform the final report.

Information from the findings will also be used to inform both profession specific and wider multi-disciplinary clinical academic careers work.

The successful provider will be expected to have experience within the clinical academic field and an excellent understanding of the opportunities and barriers to healthcare scientists within this space.

The work should be completed by 31 March 2017.