Feelings of “mistrust” and “scepticism” among medics about working with pharmaceutical firms is holding back industry’s potential to help transform NHS patient care, a report has warned.

The resources, skills and capacity of the life sciences sector could help “pump-prime changes in the NHS that many patients want to see and staff want to deliver”, according to independent think tank the King’s Fund.

It is urging the Government and health service leaders to play a greater role in enabling more partnerships between the NHS and industry.

Life sciences involve the scientific study of living things and includes the likes of biomedical science, which explores how drugs treat disease, and biomedical engineering, which helps design and develop equipment and devices for healthcare, such as artificial organs and limbs.

In its report, the King’s Fund describes the UK’s life sciences sector as “large and thriving”, but warned its full potential to improve patient care is not being realised.

Partnerships are a “well-established way” for the NHS and industry to work together, it added, with pharmaceutical firms and healthcare organisations pooling skills and resources.

However, the success of these projects “is not easy” and they require “significant time and effort from all partners, as well as a high level of rigour around the design and delivery”, according to the think tank.

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King’s Fund and co- author of the report, said: “Ministers often cite life sciences as a jewel in the crown of UK industry, but UK patients are not seeing the full benefits of having such global expertise on their doorstep.

“Rigorously managed partnerships between the NHS and life sciences companies, delivered within clear guidance, have the potential to improve patient care.

“The resources, skills and capacity of industry can help pump-prime changes in the NHS that many patients want to see and staff want to deliver.”

The report highlighted a number of barriers to these partnerships being used more widely and strategically.

As part of its research, the King’s Fund looked at four working projects between NHS organisations and pharmaceutical companies, which included a focus on diabetes care, hepatitis C testing, improving asthma control and the diagnosis of skin cancer.

The investigations included interviews with 18 people.

They told the think tank there was “generally a lot of scepticism among medics around working with industry” while others pointed to “mistrust stemming from the broader reputation of the pharmaceutical industry, with this being heavily shaped by examples of poor practice”.

Mr Anandaciva added: “We found several barriers blocking the benefits of industry collaboration, including a common mistrust of partnerships with pharmaceutical firms, often based on a suspicion of their profit motives and historic experiences of their sales and marketing activity.

“To overcome this scepticism and provide assurance about life sciences partnerships, national NHS leaders should work with industry to co-own joint guidance and robust approaches to joint working.”

While the report stressed life sciences partnerships are not a solution to all the issues the NHS is facing, they could “offer a valuable addition” to support improvement in a health service “desperately in need of transformation but often lacking the resource and headspace to make it”.

It added: “This must not be about private sector involvement making up for or masking a shortfall in NHS capacity or resourcing; the type of involvement we describe is focused purely on transformation or improvement initiatives, not the delivery of routine care.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has spoken about the life sciences sector on a number of occasions since taking the role following the summer general election.

In July, he acknowledged the public’s “legitimate” concerns about the future of the NHS and said shifting more care from hospitals into the community, focusing on sickness prevention and moving from analogue to digital would drive the “life sciences and med-tech revolution here and internationally”.

A close-up of Wes Streeting
Wes Streeting has spoken about the life sciences sector on a number of occasions since becoming Health Secretary (Leon Neal/PA)

In August it was also announced that up to 18 new clinical trial hubs will open across the UK as part of a £400 million public-private investment aimed at supporting health and life sciences projects across the four nations.

Mr Streeting hailed the move as a “significant vote of confidence in the UK” that will transform it into an “epicentre of health research, supporting an NHS fit for the future”.

Mr Anandaciva added: “The Government’s stated missions include building an NHS fit for the future and kick-starting economic growth.

“Both can be helped by enabling more partnerships between the NHS and life sciences sector.

“Through a more strategic national approach to partnerships, NHS leaders can capitalise on the contribution of life sciences companies to help deliver the Government’s health mission.”

Richard Torbett, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), which commissioned the report, said it “demonstrates the huge benefits of partnership working between the NHS and industry”.

“The report is right to point to some of the challenges these partnerships must overcome,” he said.

“However, we believe partnership can play an important role in supporting the NHS in achieving the strategic shifts required to make it a service that’s fit for the future.”

An NHS spokesperson said: “Throughout its history, the NHS has continued to forge successful partnerships with the life-sciences sector to deliver better medical outcomes for patients, and as this report shows, working with this industry is integral to helping the NHS to work towards eliminating Hepatitis C in England, improving asthma care, and delivering better outcomes for people with diabetes.

“The NHS remains committed to collaborating with the life-sciences sector to solve the defining healthcare challenges of now and in the future, as we work closely with the Government to shape the 10-year health plan.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The Secretary of State has made clear we will make Britain a powerhouse for life sciences and medical technology.

“Through our 10 Year Health Plan, we will drag our analogue health service into the digital age as we make our NHS fit for the future, benefitting patients, and making the health service more efficient.

“By combining the care of the NHS and the genius of our country’s leading scientific minds, we can develop modern treatments for patients and help get Britain’s economy booming.”