College welcomes Academy Position Statement on Clinical Research

College welcomes Academy Position Statement on Clinical Research

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (“the College”) is welcoming the publication of a new position statement on clinical research by the  Academic Leads of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC). The position statement highlights concerns about the decline in clinical research capacity in the UK and sets out recommendations for both AoMRC members and governments and other key stakeholders. 

Professor Sunil Bhandari, Vice President for England and Wales and the College’s Academic Representative for the AoMRC, said:

This position statement on the critically important subject of clinical research is timely and welcome as we simply cannot afford to see a further decline in the capacity of clinical research across the four nations of the UK.

As our College has said before, fundamentally, clinicians need to have adequate time in their job plans to allow them to undertake research training and clinical research or to provide the academic mentoring to our clinical researchers. This must apply across all career stages and clinical research should be promoted and encouraged through all training programmes at all hospitals and community settings. 

Clinical research is, of course, crucial if we are to continue to improve patient outcomes and care and the sustainability of the NHS. In addition, investment in clinical research is extremely positive for our economy and growth. Importantly we have a duty to give our patients the opportunity to participate in research programs. 

The College encourages employers and governments across the UK to act on the recommendations in this position statement to ensure that we genuinely support and nurture our clinical researchers and remain at the forefront of high quality healthcare.

• The AoMRC statement is available here: Academic_Leads_clinical_research_1125.pdf