Urgent action is required to address falling numbers of?medically trained research staff in the UK, sector leaders have said.

The warning comes as a?new report from the Medical Research Council (MRC) highlights a 6 per cent decrease in the number of UK-based academic clinicians over the decade to 2022, equating to 189 fewer medically trained researchers compared with 2012.

At senior lecturer level ¨C equivalent to an NHS consultant ¨C the decrease was even sharper, at 24 per cent, with 311 fewer mid-level academic clinicians in 2022 than in 2012, while a 2023 survey by the Medical Schools Council (MSC) found almost 300 unfilled clinical research vacancies.

Over?this same period the NHS workforce has grown massively, with the number of GPs growing from just over 4,000 in 2012 to more than 7,000 in 2022, while consultant numbers rose from just below 6,000 to 10,000 over the same period, the MRC study found.

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That means only 3 per cent of hospital consultants were also researchers in 2022, compared with 5.1 per cent a decade earlier, with the gap set to widen under the NHS Long-term Workforce Plan to?double the number of doctors?produced each year, without a similar plan to expand clinical research numbers.

The challenge of combining a hospital and academic career is one key reason for the loss of clinical researchers, given the difficulty of ¡°developing two distinct professional skillsets in parallel¡±, with surgical and other ¡°craft¡± specialisms already requiring long training periods, notes the report, published on 30 January by the MRC, which convened a high-level group of medics and researchers to confront the issue.

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Higher student debt levels may also prompt junior doctors to seek to complete their training as soon as possible to maximise their salary rather than embarking on more circuitous dual careers, the report adds.

Financial pressures on universities, which may be unwilling to recruit highly paid medically qualified staff, the time pressures of working in the NHS and the uncertainty attached to a research career that relies heavily on winning grants may also contribute.

Proposed four-year undergraduate courses may also limit opportunities for research, says the report, which calls for a series of measures to address the decline.

These include the creation of a national?clinical?research career framework, more flexible training pathways, extra help for leaders and mentors and more equitable pay and opportunities for those taking this dual career pathway.

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Patrick Chinnery, executive chair of the MRC, who led the expert group that commissioned the research, said the report ¡°sets out the urgency in reversing the well-documented decline in?clinical?researchers and proposes solutions to maintain the UK¡¯s position as a global leader in the life sciences sector¡±.

¡°Coordinated steps across government and other key stakeholders are now vital to implement all the recommendations in this report,¡± he said. ¡°The?MRC?is already working with major funders to implement its actions.¡±

Patrick Maxwell, chair of the MSC, described the report as a ¡°timely and compelling assessment of the UK¡¯s shrinking clinical academic workforce¡±.

¡°Supporting clinical academics is not just about driving scientific advancement, but also improving patient outcomes and promoting economic growth,¡± he said, explaining that his group ¡°will actively work with government, funders, and other stakeholders to implement these crucial actions.¡±

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com