We continue to work in challenging circumstances in health and social care, including the enduring impacts of the pandemic, strains on clinical and care staff and the continuing cost-of-living crisis. In this context however, our NIHR ARC South London’s work is making tangible impacts on people's lives locally, nationally and internationally.
Noteworthy contributions include evaluating the pandemic's effects on maternity services, highlighting the higher risks of mortality for individuals with severe mental illness following Covid-19 infection and understanding what happened in care homes during the pandemic, resulting in practical policy recommendations and overdue recognition of care home staff. These examples reflect our commitment to research that has a real impact to address health and care challenges.
This year was the fourth anniversary of all 15 NIHR ARCs in England. To mark this milestone, 15 projects demonstrating practical implementation and impact were shared illustrating how ARC research improves the quality, delivery and efficiency of health and care services, improving outcomes for patients and the public, both locally and nationally. You can read about this impact on X (formerly Twitter) under #ARCimpacts. This includes work by ARC South London researchers informing decisions about the provision of tobacco dependence treatment in local hospitals.
At our ARC, the work we do is applied to real-world problems. We want our research to move outside and beyond academia to inform decisions around policy and service delivery with the latest evidence. Our vascular researchers have identified the long-term unmet needs of stroke survivors, providing recommendations for policymakers and care systems to address these problems. Similarly, our palliative and end of life care researchers published a report that identified gaps and inconsistencies in palliative care services across the UK, working with the national charity Marie Curie.
Our influence on services is clear in our work shaping clinical guidance and service delivery of perinatal mental health services, implementing a new and improved model of care for all 128,000 children and young people in Southwark and Lambeth, and developing an online self-management programme for adults of African and Caribbean heritage living with type 2 diabetes, working closely with our partners at the Health Innovation Network. Our research, guided by patient engagement, is also continuing to inform and improve the management of breathlessness in advanced illness, enhancing both healthcare delivery and patient wellbeing.
We are committed to expanding public participation in research and over the last year have achieved significant progress in engaging diverse communities. Researchers from the ARC have pioneered a novel approach to foster greater diversity in recruitment for research studies, known as the King’s Model. Collaborating with partners, the ARC has led initiatives designed to develop inclusive research in the local area, as shown in our successful collaborative bid to enhance community involvement.
An important area of the ARC’s work is offering training and building research skills capacity among the health and care workforce, and engaging with local communities. This year our flagship implementation science conference explored how implementation science can help sustain health and public services, while our annual Active Involvement in Research event explored south London health and care needs and inequalities. Our Applied Research Leadership Academy, which is cultivating diverse leadership in applied research, received 100% positive feedback from participants and has been commended by the NIHR. Next year, it is opening up to all ARCs across the country. We will also be launching a new online module to our ARC partners introducing people new to research to key concepts and techniques in applied health and care research.
As you may know, last year the NIHR gave a strong vote of support for the work of the 15 ARCs by extending our funding for a further 18 months until March 2026. This year we planned how to make the most of this extension period for the benefit of local people and communities in south London. We have submitted our plans to the NIHR and will share our progress during the next year.
Finally, some personal news. I have been privileged to work in the NHS for 45 years, and at King’s College London for 40 years, and I have decided the time is right for me to take on new challenges. I plan to retire from my roles as Director of the NIHR ARC South London, as well as Consultant Psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Professor of Community Psychiatry at King’s College London at the end of March 2024. After retirement I will continue my work as Emeritus Professor of Community Mental Health at King’s College London. The process to appoint my ARC successor has begun.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your superb and collaborative approach to our ARC work during 2023. I wish you a peaceful and restful festive period, and I look forward to our further work together in 2024.
