DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by COI News Distribution Service. 4 December 2008
The process to
select the organisations that will be designated as Academic
Health Science Centres (AHSC) has formally opened today. At the
same time it has been confirmed that Sir Ian Kennedy has been
formally appointed to chair the international panel which will
make a recommendation to Secretary of State about which
partnerships should be awarded AHSC status.
The NHS Next Stage Review announced the Government's
commitment to fostering AHSCs in England. The designation process
will allow the Government to identify the University and NHS
partnerships best able to realise the synergies between research,
education and health services to deliver better patient care.
The international panel chaired by Sir Ian Kennedy will offer a
"peer review" of the bids for designation and will
identify the organisations best placed to compete alongside
leading AHSCs elsewhere in the world, such as Harvard, Johns
Hopkins and the Karolinska Institute. Applicants will need to
demonstrate excellence in research, education and patient care.
They will also need to present a compelling vision for their
partnership, setting out how they plan to take new discoveries and
promote their application in the NHS and across the world. AHSCs
aim to improve patient care speeding up the translational benefits
of research - taking it "from bench to bedside and back
again". AHSCs will also generate economic growth through
spin-offs and industry investment.
Health Secretary Alan Johnson said:
"Academic Health Science Centres will make an important
contribution to improving the quality of care patients receive in
this country and globally. They form an important part of our
drive to foster innovation and create a pioneering NHS.
"Sir Ian Kennedy will make an excellent chair for the
international panel. He has a strong understanding of the
University and healthcare sectors in England, and is a tireless
champion for patients."
Sir Ian Kennedy said:
"It's hard to overstate the importance of translational
research and the impact that this can have on the care of
patients. I have a particular interest in the benefits that
Academic Health Science Centre designation can bring to patients
across the NHS.
"I look forward to working with fellow panellists to
identify the partnerships in England that are best placed to
flourish as Academic Health Science Centres."
Notes to editors
1. For further information please contact the Department of
Health press office on 020 7210 5221.
2. The NHS Next Stage Review announced the government's
intention to foster the development of AHSCs. The Review announced
that the Department would establish an international panel of
experts to award AHSC status to a small number of partnerships
with the appropriate concentration of expertise and excellence to
be able to compete internationally.
3. Professor Sir Ian Kennedy is Chairman of the Healthcare
Commission. He was also recently Chair of the Nuffield Council of
Bioethics. Sir Ian chaired the public inquiry into children's
heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary (1998-2001). He is a
member of the Ministry of Defence's advisory committee on
medical countermeasures, a member of the working group on quality
in Lord D'Arzi's review of the NHS, and a member of the
National Patient Safety Forum.
4. Sir Ian Kennedy replaces Sir Alan Langlands as chair of the
international panel. Sir Alan Langlands withdrew from the panel
following his appointment as Chief Executive of the Higher
Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) on 20 November 2008.
5. Application forms for AHSC designation can be found on the
AHSC pages of the Next Stage Review website (http://www.ournhs.nhs.uk/).
The international panel will draw up a short-list and invite
short-listed applicants to interview in London between 2-4 March 2009.