Collaboration

Collaboration between Universities and the NHS is fundamental to all aspects of clinical education and research. There are however recent initiatives to develop this further:

AHSCs

In England the Department of Health has designated 5 Academic Health Science Centres (AHSCs) following a bidding process in late 2008 and early 2009. AHSCs were proposed in the Darzi review ‘High Quality Care for All’ to bring together a small number of health and academic partners to focus on world-class research, teaching and patient care.

The five AHSCs are:

• Cambridge University Health Partners
• Imperial  College Healthcare NHS Trust
• King’s Health Partners
• UCL Partners
• Manchester AHSC

HIECs

In another development heralded in the Darzi Review, the Department of Health in England have invited applications for partnerships between health, social care, education and business sectors to become Health Innovation and Education Clusters (HIECs). “The clusters will improve the knowledge and skills of NHS staff, by providing best practice education and training for nurses, doctors, dentists and the full range of professions in all healthcare settings. This in turn will quickly bring the latest innovations in care and treatment, including new medicines and devices to NHS patients.” Guide and application process. The successful 17 HIECs were announced in December 2009

Research Collaborations

There is a series of research collaborations in Scotland

See also research collaborations and networks through the National Institute for Health Research and Related Initiatives.