University of Kent Strategy for Health (2014-2016)
The aims of the Strategy for Health are to provide:
A clear lead for health-related activity within the University with a breadth
of activity to advise and implement strategy and to embed the University
within the regional healthcare economy.
A clear direction for research and innovation which exploits our current
activities and strengths and builds collaborative research networks with
our regional healthcare providers.
A clear expansion of training provision for health professionals which
builds on our current focus on postgraduate programmes and CPD.
The following document expands these aims, puts them in context and recommends
actions designed to achieve them. These actions are summarised overleaf.
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Summary of recommended actions
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To continue to develop KentHealth to promote the cross-University
healthcare activities both within the University and externally in regional
and national fora and initiatives
To expand the KentHealth web information and improve capture
systems for health-related activities involving the University
To develop the concept of the ‘Kent Institute for Community Health and
Social Care’ as a joint venture to expand and promote the collaborative
activities of CHSS, PSSRU, Tizard Centre and CPP at the interface of
health and social care
To increase the number of Joint Academic appointments between the
University and the regional healthcare providers
To establish and manage Kent Health Partners as a collaborative forum
for healthcare research leadership
To expand the KentHealth Academic Research Fellowship programme
and organise an annual Fellowship workshop
To increase the University involvement in European-based healthcare
initiatives
To work with the AHSN and KCC innovation fora and other regional
partnerships to increase the role of the University in helping spread
innovative practice through Kent & Medway
To promote and expand the activities of the Primary Care Unit within
CHSS
To develop the UKHUFT, AUA, UoK partnership for medical education
To establish and consolidate the progression pathways from PG
Certificate level through to Masters and Doctoral qualifications in
healthcare
To expand and promote work experience opportunities for students
within the healthcare profession
To develop and launch a recruitment campaign for postgraduate
healthcare training for Middle Eastern applicants
To recruit an Education & Training Officer to KentHealth
Introduction
The Health Strategy 2010-2013 established KentHealth as the one-stop shop for all
matters related to healthcare research and education at the University of Kent. It also
built new relationships with the emerging stakeholders in the healthcare environment
following the extensive reforms which the Health and Social Care Act 2012 brought
into play on 1st April 2013. The 20 actions that the original Health Strategy proposed
have been largely achieved. The University now has senior representation on many
of the significant healthcare-related committees and advisory groups and has
established itself as a regional leader in postgraduate healthcare training and
research.
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Background
In a constrained economic climate, the health economy will remain as a significant
research and innovation driver and will provide a significant pool of graduate-level
professionals seeking further training. Our strategy must be to link our academic
strengths with these needs within the health economy, both nationally and within
Kent & Medway (K&M), to deliver an agenda which improves patient care, develops
a strong research culture and encourages innovation and internationalisation. The
Health and Social Care Act 2012 has radically altered the way in which healthcare
delivery and training will be commissioned and delivered in the future. The emphasis
has shifted from acute care to community care and many commissioning
responsibilities now lie with general practice through the new Clinical Commissioning
Groups (CCGs). Designing individual patient pathways is prioritised, entailing much
closer working between health and social care agencies. This new approach will not
be straightforward to implement, but is aligned much more closely than the previous
policies to the strengths within the University of Kent. This presents a window of
opportunity for a targeted expansion of our collaborative activities with the regional
health and social care agencies. In addition to commissioning of healthcare
provision, commissioning of healthcare education was also reorganised under the
umbrella of Health Education England (HEE). Significant responsibilities have been
devolved regionally and Kent falls under Health Education KSS (HEKSS). HEKSS
are looking for new and innovative ways to train a multi-professional workforce and
again there are opportunities for the University to provide educational leadership in
developing integrated community-based health and social care training. Finally, the
new reforms also saw the establishment of 15 regional Academic Health Science
Networks (AHSNs) to co-ordinate and promote the rapid spread of innovation
through healthcare practice. The University was a founder member of the KSS
AHSN and has established clear links with this new organisation.
In summary, over the last 3 years, the reforms have completely changed a longestablished NHS and health and social care infrastructure and have introduced a
different and, as yet, uncertain future. As the new system beds in, there are many
opportunities for the University to engage with health and social care providers and
help them deliver better health and social care. The aim of this document is to
articulate a strategy for expansion of health and social care training, research and
innovation in a changing economic and technological environment.
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Strategy and Recommendations
(1) A clear lead for health-related activity within the University with a breadth
of activity to advise and implement strategy and to embed the University
within the regional healthcare economy.
Since its establishment in 2011, KentHealth has had a regular presence at regional
healthcare-related events and has met many of the regional healthcare leaders to
promote the University and discuss how increased collaborative activities might be
achieved. KentHealth now has representation on the KSS AHSN Board, HEKSS
Education Expert Advisory Group, the KSS Higher Education Forum, the Council for
Healthcare Science, the K&M Comprehensive Local Research Network Board,
Mental Health Knowledge Exchange Network, NIHR Research Design Service SE,
the Kent Community Health Trust Wound Care Steering Group and the East Kent
Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) and K & M Partnership Trust
(KMPT) R & D Committees. KentHealth is also represented on relevant School
Research and Enterprise Committees (e.g. MSP and CHSS). It is important that
KentHealth continues in these liaison roles and represents the spectrum of crossUniversity activities in Health rather than being seen as representing one particular
element within the University.
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To continue to develop KentHealth to promote the cross-University
healthcare activities both within the University and externally in regional
and national fora and initiatives
One vehicle for achieving this cross-University focus is the KentHealth website
(www.kent.ac.uk/health), which provides generic information about University
training programmes and research activities in health-related areas. It also provides
an opportunity to showcase the large number of research projects and the work of
over 50 PhD students undertaking health-related research at the University. Current
databases of translational research at the University can also be found on the
website. However, a difficulty remains in collecting this information comprehensively.
Effort needs to be made to devise a way to tag health-related activity so that
collection and collation of information across the University is simplified to facilitate
effective communication internally and externally. KentHealth will work with
Research Services to facilitate a tagging scheme.
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To expand the KentHealth web information and improve capture
systems for health-related activities involving the University
The University of Kent has a strong research profile in health sciences such as
Biomedical Sciences, Medical Engineering, Medical Imaging, Sports Science and
Pharmacy. KentHealth will continue to promote and represent these activities.
However, it is at the health and social care interface within the community where the
University has its strongest reputation and it is here that there is an ideal opportunity
to focus and expand our health-related activities. This focus will build on the national
reputations of the Centre for Health Services Studies (CHSS), Personal Social
Services Research Unit (PSSRU) and the Tizard Centre, and to combine these with
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the education and training resource for professional healthcare practice within the
Centre for Professional Practice (CPP). PSSRU and CHSS are already working
more closely and together host 3 Research Fellows in Health Economics and are
collaborating on joint research proposals. PSSRU and the Tizard Centre are part of
the national School for Social Care Research and CHSS and the Tizard Centre are
collaborating on research and teaching programmes. CHSS has also developed
close working relationships with KCC Public Health on integrated care research and
also in establishing a public health research group jointly funded between CHSS and
KCC. There is a need to exploit such research links and provide advanced training to
improve care in the community and to tackle management and supply chain issues.
The joint activities of the 4 Centres could be co-ordinated under a single virtual
umbrella of an ‘Institute of Community Health and Social Care’ or similar framework
within SSPSSR to encourage working close together across the health and social
care interface. A joint focus on current priorities such as co-ordination of postoperative care, leadership of care pathways within primary care, and the integration
of health and social care for the elderly would be immediate targets. The Institute
would foster a partnership between the K&M CCGs, HEKSS, KSS AHSN, KCC
Public Health and a variety of social care providers. The Institute would have
specialist expertise in health economics, systems change, public health, personal
health budgets and integrated care. There are excellent opportunities for the Institute
to position itself as the leading national centre for evaluative, benchmarking, advisory
and research work around the current transition to a community-based healthcare
economy. It could be a valuable source of evidence for value-for-money and patient
benefit and participation. As it developed, the Institute would provide an academic
‘neutral ground’ where stakeholders can come together under non-partisan
leadership to design and integrate new care pathways, as well as providing an
academic ‘home’ for new joint appointments between partner agencies and the
University. There will be a need to pump-prime some resource, such as the start-up
funding of Joint Research Fellows.
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To develop the concept of the ‘Kent Institute for Community Health and
Social Care’ as a joint venture to expand and promote the collaborative
activities of CHSS, PSSRU, Tizard Centre and CPP at the interface of
health and social care
In 2013, KentHealth lead a working party comprising University and external
representatives to revise the protocols and contracts for appointing joint employees
with external healthcare providers. The recommendations of the Working Party are
for all appointments to be ‘joint’ where contracted responsibilities are given to
external partners. The use of ‘Honorary’ appointments will be restricted to those
appointments where the University is not dependent on the specific delivery of duties
by the Honorary appointee. Joint appointments, with dual linked contracts, will be set
up according to Follett principles with joint agreement of job description,
appointments process and subsequent joint appraisal and job planning. This will be
irrespective of funding source. This new structure will enable the University to
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establish a cadre of joint appointments of external Faculty members who have clear
and managed roles to play within the new Health Strategy, and relevant Schools will
be encouraged to consider expanding their complement of joint appointees.
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To increase the number of Joint Academic appointments between the
University and the regional healthcare providers
(2) A clear direction for research and innovation which exploits our current
activities and strengths and builds collaborative research networks with
our regional healthcare providers.
A number of partnerships between NHS Trusts and local universities have recently
been established (e.g. Bristol Health Partners, Liverpool Health Partners,
Birmingham Health Partners). All have the objective of making significant health
gains and improvements in service delivery by integrating, promoting and developing
regional strengths in health services, research, innovation and education. Such
partnerships often complement the regional AHSNs by helping identify the
researchers, bringing them together and then facilitating the research necessary to
underpin innovative changes in practice. The local AHSN then provides the vehicle
to translate that research into practice and spreads best practice across a wide
geographical area.
It is proposed to establish ‘Kent Health Partners’ as a consortium to mirror these
initiatives. The partnership would bring together stakeholders in health & social care
research across K&M to develop a co-ordinated research and innovation strategy
and to generate significant health gains and improvements in service delivery. The
current high standing of the University of Kent in research league tables means it is
well-placed to provide leadership of this initiative. It also co-hosts the South-East
NIHR Research Design Service (RDS-SE) and close working with this organisation,
hosted within CHSS and directed by David Wilkinson from the School of Psychology,
will be crucial in delivering a regional research agenda. The Kent Health Partnership
would encourage new collaborations in health & social care research across K&M
and provide a vehicle to bring partners together for joint activities in research and in
research training. It would work closely with the new Comprehensive Research
Network for KSS and help identify, promote and publicise the K&M research
strengths within and outside the K&M region. In the longer term, the partnership
would work together to develop the track-record and critical mass necessary to bid
for central funding to establish health & social care research centres within K&M.
The membership would include the research leads from all the K&M universities,
NHS Trusts, Public Health and social care organisations as well as Local Authority
and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) representation.
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To establish and manage KentHealth Partners as a collaborative forum
for healthcare research leadership
KentHealth will expand the existing Fellowship Programme to encourage candidates
to register as Academic Research Fellows with the University and to base their
research activities within a University context. A Fellowship Working Group
established by KentHealth has concluded that the most productive way of fostering
collaborative research is through the hosting of early-stage Research Fellows.
Postdoctoral Academic Research Fellows will provide a focus for the expansion of
collaborative research with external healthcare providers and lay the bedrock for bids
for external research funding. Pump-priming for this initiative will be sought from
internal and external sources – HEKSS have already expressed an interest in
providing funds and the KentHealth Fellowship fund will need some additional input
from the University to encourage other matched-funding inputs from external
providers. The Academic Research Fellows will need to be recruited pro-actively
and supported through the pathway to achieving externally-funded research monies.
A number of sources of recruits offer quick wins: Kent PhD students doing healthrelated research who are entering their final year, successful holders of NHS Trust
Internal Grant Schemes, early career researchers in healthcare topics, holders of
LETB Clinical Fellowships, newly-recruited NHS registrars, and targeted nominees
from Trust R&D Departments. In addition, PhD Fellowships will also be encouraged
through closer working with the Graduate School, building on the early successes of
the existing KentHealth PhD studentship scheme. An annual PhD Fellowship has
also been established within CHSS to feed into these initiatives. KentHealth will work
with Research Services and the NIHR RDS-SE to organise an annual Fellowship
workshop, and will ensure the targeted cohort identified above are strongly
encouraged to attend. The expected format would be a morning session outlining
Fellowship schemes, support available and exemplars of successful Fellows. The
afternoon session would promote research areas available in the partner HEIs in K &
M where Fellowship applications would be especially favoured. This would be
followed by a speed-dating event with willing academics and the provision of a
‘researcher’s toolkit’ to take away. In targeting our largest local research-active NHS
Trust, KentHealth has established a liaison group to attract potential researchers
from EKHUFT. Three evening discussion events have been held using themes of
research impact, infectious diseases and therapies as topics to provide discussion
points and the opportunity for University staff and Trust to meet in an informal
environment to discuss potential collaborations. Over the past 3 years, a number of
these new collaborations have borne fruit in gaining external funding.
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To expand the KentHealth Academic Research Fellowship programme
and organise an annual Fellowship workshop
The healthcare research community within K&M has had relatively few successes in
winning EU funding. Some success has been achieved via the CASA partnership in
gaining INTERREG funding but there will be significant opportunities under the
Horizon 2020 scheme in which 1bn Euros per year has been set aside for health.
KentHealth will work closely with Research Services, the Kent Health & Europe
Centre and the KCC Pioneer Innovation Forum, who all have a brief to win EU
research funds for the regional healthcare providers. Previous University successes
in other areas provide an excellent framework and track record for the ‘UK’s
European University’ to lead some significant bids in healthcare research.
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To increase the University involvement in European-based healthcare
initiatives
Kent & Medway is currently covered by 8 clinical commissioning groups and a
number of these groups have formed associations with other stakeholders to provide
innovation fora for discussion of new initiatives. Regional innovation fora are also
being planned by the KSS AHSN. In addition, the University has health-related
innovation events and ‘think-tanks’ organised by Kent Innovation and Enterprise
(KIE) and KentHealth is committed to closer working with the Business Development
Officer for Health in KIE. One aim is to work towards developing health-related
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) as the KTP programme supports strategic
objectives and the impact agenda. This liaison will also ensure contracts for noncredit bearing training or consultancy are appropriately managed and recorded.
KentHealth needs to ensure that the University has a health & social care presence
at externally-organised regional events so that opportunities for consultancy,
evaluation or new research work are identified. So far, KentHealth has had
representation on the Kent & Medway Commissioning Support (KMCS) Innovation
Forum and on the Kent Pioneer Innovation Forum (which links to the Kent Health &
Well-Being Board). Attendance by CHSS members at the former has already lead to
contracts for work to feed into CCG thinking, and the CCGs are now dealing directly
with the University rather than working through the Forum. KentHealth will also be
seeking closer engagements with Local Partnership Councils for Health directly, and
with Local Enterprise Partnerships via links to KIE.
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To work with the AHSN and KCC innovation fora and other regional
partnerships to increase the role of the University in helping spread
innovative practice through Kent & Medway
(3) A clear expansion of training provision for health professionals which
builds on our current focus on postgraduate programmes and CPD.
A Primary Care Unit has been established within CHSS lead by Professor Patricia
Wilson. The Unit will work closely with HEKSS to develop an intercalated BSc for
medical students, as well as community-based training for Foundation trainees and a
multi-professional postgraduate training portfolio around leadership and community
care. It will provide the focus for development of new Postgraduate primary care
programmes designed to change practice within the profession around new
pathways of patient care and to roll these out across the region via joint delivery with
HEKSS. This will also involve promoting the role of the ‘generalist’ GP who
understands and manages the whole care pathway. It will also dovetail with the MSc
in Community Health being developed by CPP for Kent Community Health Trust and
enable a portfolio of new multiprofessional community healthcare modules to be
promoted under the umbrella of the virtual ‘Institute for Community Health and Social
Care’. The new Chair in Primary Care will also oversee the development of new
research lines. In particular, there will be a focus in patient participation in
determining healthcare policy and service development. The Unit will foster and
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promote research-based studies within community healthcare and will establish a
group of Academic Research Fellows associated with CHSS who hold joint
appointments with the University.
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To promote and expand the activities of the Primary Care Unit within
CHSS
The American University of Antigua College of Medicine is partnering with EKHUFT
to deliver the final 2 years of clinical placement training of their 6-year medical
degree (2 years basic sciences, 2 years clinical sciences, 2 years placement-based
clinical training). AUA has gained Medical Board of California and New York State
Education Department accreditation to allow their graduates to participate in clinical
clerkships, secure residencies, and become licensed physicians in the U.S. and
Canada. AUA is one of the few Caribbean medical schools to receive these
accreditations. It follows on from the previous successful establishment and
accreditation of some other Caribbean Schools, most notably St George’s in
Grenada which is now well established and has close connections with the
University of Northumbria and UWE (see http://www.sgu.edu/school-ofmedicine/international-partners.html). AUA is also seeking a UK-based academic
partner to further develop their medical training. Initially they have mapped our
Biomedical Sciences degree against the 3 years of basic sciences training currently
taught in Antigua, and are willing to support an articulation agreement to accept our
BMS graduates for direct entry into year 3 of their current degree programme. This is
a relatively straightforward arrangement but AUA is also keen to establish a joint
medical programme where the University of Kent would be responsible for delivering
a modified 2-year BMS curriculum, supplemented by additional input from clinical
colleagues, to deliver the 2-year basic sciences component of a 6-year University of
Kent/AUA programme. Students would then be able to do 2 years basic sciences at
the University of Kent, followed by 2 years clinical tuition in Antigua, followed by 2
years clinical placement training back in East Kent. If successful, this model could be
used by the University and EKHUFT to develop a number of similar agreements for
provision of clinical tuition that would provide a mechanism for the University to offer
a medical degree.
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To develop the UKHUFT, AUA, UoK partnership for medical education
Postgraduate programmes in Advanced and Specialist Healthcare are available
within the Centre for Professional Practice. As well as in-house programme delivery,
CPP are experienced in successfully working in collaboration with healthcare
organisations, and have a significant portfolio of validated post-graduate
programmes, which recognise the outstanding educational programmes being
delivered by healthcare partners. These validated programmes provide a route to
acquire academic credit and qualification for occupational groups such Foundation
Dentists, Dental Practitioners, Community Nurses and other healthcare
professionals. Further work is being undertaken within CPP to establish collaborative
undergraduate programmes, where this has been specifically requested by
established partner organisations. CPP will also work with the Kent Business School
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in tailoring programmes for healthcare administration and finance that will be
appropriate to people tasked with new healthcare budgetary responsibilities.
However, there is an urgent need to develop progression pathways at Doctoral level,
either through an MD by research or via Professional Doctorates. The Programme
Specifications for the MD route are already in place, but confined to the School of
Biosciences. These need to be expanded to provide a generic MD degree
programme that can be used by any School to establish Doctoral Academic Fellows
without having to go through a lengthy School-specific QA process of approval each
time. KentHealth will manage the process of obtaining University approval for an
umbrella programme specification.
In one particular area, healthcare science, Health Education England (HEE) is
promoting implementation of the Modernising Scientific Careers project to create a
training programme from level 5 (Foundation Degree/Apprenticeship) through to
level 8 (Doctorate). There are 50,000 healthcare science employees in the NHS. The
School of Biosciences and Medway School of Pharmacy are well-placed to develop
appropriate training if appropriate work experience placements can be organised via
a joint appointment with the regional NHS Trusts/Pathology Directorate. EKHUFT is
keen to co-fund such an appointment to facilitate the University-Trust interaction to
deliver training fit-for-purpose. The final stages of the pathway leading to completion
of the Higher Specialist Scientist Training Programme (HSST) is still under
discussion at HEE but the University-EKHUFT combination should include the
development of an HSST programme in their negotiations.
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To establish and consolidate the progression pathways from PG
Certificate level through to Masters and Doctoral qualifications in
healthcare
KentHealth established a vacation bursary scheme in 2012 and provided bursaries
for 2 students to take summer vacation work experience on projects based in
regional acute Trusts. In 2013, 6 students were placed and matched funding
obtained from EKHUFT and the University of Kent Student Projects Fund. Matched
funding has again been obtained for 2014 and an additional 2 NHS Trusts have
offered work experience places and we intend to expand the scheme over
subsequent years.
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To expand and promote work experience opportunities for students
within the healthcare profession
The first Health Strategy did not address the International market. However, both the
University and EKHUFT have received interest from hospitals in the Middle East for
training in Biomedical Sciences, Medical Placements and in postgraduate
healthcare. There is also a market for training in Hospital Administration as
healthcare facilities expand rapidly in this geographic region. There is an opportunity
to use existing Middle Eastern contacts to attract trainees to East Kent through a
combined recruitment campaign and Summer school programme. The School of
Biosciences offers an Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) accredited
undergraduate degree programme in Biomedical Science. Typically each year
successful graduates from this programme move on to employment as trainee
Biomedical Scientists within EKHUFT Trust. Recent teaching developments at Kent
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have led to the introduction of new taught MSc programmes in Cancer Biology,
Reproductive Technologies: Science and Ethics, Biotechnology & Bioengineering
and Drug Design, with an additional new programme – an MSc in Infectious
Diseases – coming on line in 2014. All of these programmes are partnerships (albeit
to varying levels) with EKHUFT, and some of the teaching on each degree is
delivered by Trust staff. At present, none of these programmes is accredited by the
IBMS, although initial indications are that an approach from us to seek accreditation
would be welcome – particularly in the case of the Reproductive Technologies and
Infectious Diseases programmes. This would be an important strategic development
because the IBMS has been highly successful recently in expanding its influence
globally – particularly in the Middle East and to a lesser extent in Australasia. For
example, IBMS accredited undergraduate degrees in Medical Laboratory Sciences
are offered by Kuwait University, King Abdulaziz University (Saudi Arabia) and the
Higher Colleges of Technology (United Arab Emirates). At present, however, none of
these institutions has the capability to deliver IBMS-accredited postgraduate
programmes, although there is a strong push to ensure that nationals of their
countries are trained to internationally competitive standards. This is a niche in the
market that we can exploit to enhance the recruitment of international students.
The expansion of these training developments, especially in partnership with
EKHUFT (see above), will require additional resource to develop and manage.
KentHealth currently has a Research & Innovation Officer to assist the Director is
implementing policy, and it would now be appropriate to appoint an Education &
Training Officer to oversee the training activities and liaise closely with the Primary
Care Unit. There is currently an opportunity to make this a co-funded joint
appointment with EKHUFT to take oversight and linkage of these expanding
developments when the current Director retires in 2014.
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To develop and launch a recruitment campaign for postgraduate
healthcare training for Middle Eastern applicants
To recruit an Education & Training Officer to KentHealth.