A guest blog by Nicola Perrin, CEO at the Association of Medical Research Charities. By 2040, nearly 1 in 5 adults in England will live with major illness—making cross-sector research collaboration more vital than ever. Charities, public bodies, and industry are driving innovation and empowering healthcare professionals to deliver better outcomes for patients.

In England alone, nearly 1 in 5 adults are projected to be living with major illness by 2040. The cross-sector collaboration that underpins UK research is vital to tackling this crisis, unlocking new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat disease.

Our charity, public, and industry sectors ensure the UK remains an international research powerhouse, partnering across all stages and types of research. Over 75% of AMRC charities have funded research in collaboration with other organisations since 2018. They work hard to bring partners together to remove barriers and deliver benefits to patients sooner.

In 2020, Versus Arthritis and UK Research and Innovation launched the Advanced Pain Discovery Platform as a £25.5 million funding partnership. The platform supports researchers from a range of backgrounds, including nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (NMAHPs) to take on the challenge of chronic pain through a multi-disciplinary approach. Since its inception additional research funding has been provided by the Medical Research Council and the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly.

Support for a thriving NMAHP workforce is a priority for AMRC and our member charities. A research active workforce means better patient outcomes, lower mortality rates and higher confidence in care quality.  Over 50 AMRC charities provide funding and career support for NMAHPs, delivering real impact for patients and the NHS.

There are so many examples we could share. Diabetes UK funded research led by nurse Professor Maggie Shepherd, which looked at better identification and diagnosis of monogenic diabetes, led to a cheaper and more accurate c-peptide test. This is helping to ensure patients get the right diagnosis and the right care faster.

Cancer Research UK funds a Senior Research Nurse network, which facilitates best practice sharing, including a focus on improving the clinical trial journey for cancer patients – from recruitment and receiving treatment, to coming off the trial and hearing about the results.

We’ve been supporting the work of the Clinical Academic Task and Finish Group which will shortly publish a report setting out recommendations to help strengthen and grow clinical academic careers for NMAHPs. The NHS, charity, public and industry sectors urgently need to take steps to address this and, together, support a workforce that is fit for the future.

By doing so, we can accelerate access to innovation, improve health outcomes for everyone, reduce the burden on the NHS, and cement the UK’s position as a world-leader in research.

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