Research and development is a prerequisite for education, restructuring and optimal treatment at the hospitals in North Jutland.
However, the funds for research, development and innovation have been cut in line with the savings that have hit the hospital sector nationwide.
In the short term, it is understandable that funding is prioritized for activities that do not directly involve patient contact.
In the long term, this is worrisome because research is more sensitive to cuts than the rest of hospital operations, and reductions will have far-reaching consequences.
Chief physician Michael Dalager-Pedersen researches, among other things, acute bacterial infections and is a co-signatory of the concerned letter.
Photo: Claus Søndberg
Research and development is typically driven by a few zealots. Establishing research groups and associated facilities at the hospitals is a process that typically takes five to ten years.
If the area is not prioritized, there will be a high risk of the researchers moving away and the groups disbanding.
Research is therefore more sensitive to structural changes than daily clinical activities, where it is easier to find replacements.
We therefore look with great concern at political announcements that the balance between research and clinical practice must be changed, so that researchers must take care of clinical tasks to a greater extent.
Progress and development anno 2024
The hospital system is constantly changing.
In contrast to clinical everyday life just ten years ago, new treatments and research methods are constantly being developed to benefit patients and society.
A prerequisite for this development is that part of the staff must be actively involved in the development and conversion process and must help to improve the existing methods.
Only by adding this competence can sufficient progress be ensured.
Hospital director Per Christiansen, Aalborg University Hospital, is one of the senders of the post.
Photo: Martin Damgård
It is well known that an organization that researches and develops itself is better able to adopt new treatments. If you don’t keep up, you can end up like, for example, Nokia, who chose not to develop a smartphone in the belief that the company’s core product (a standard mobile phone) would always be the most important.
Research ensures a more critical and innovative way of thinking, which can counter such misconceptions and contribute to adjustment processes of decisive importance for our patients.
There are large regional differences in diseases and treatment effects. You therefore cannot uncritically use data from other countries, and it is important to get Danish data that can be immediately used in the treatment.
Furthermore, research is a prerequisite for the university hospitals to train staff in critical thinking and rational assessment of the many new treatment options (which are based on research results), but also to ensure that unnecessary studies are not carried out.
Implementation of research results
We are experiencing that within a few years the demographics and the volume of tasks will far exceed our capacity.
We will not be able to rationalize our way out of this situation and need to do things differently.
We will develop new treatments, prioritize wisely, and choose things that don’t work. Therefore, we need research and development to show which way to go.
Training of researchers is necessary, so we have local experts who can help identify the right solutions, draw on international networks for faster implementation of new treatments (thus avoiding overtreatment), save money and improve patient outcomes.
Niels Holmark Andersen is senior physician, Department of Cardiology, Aalborg University Hospital.
Photo: Martin Damgård
At both regional and national level, there are measures to ensure that doctors “choose wisely” in order not to apply unnecessary and expensive treatment that can also be harmful or cause anxiety.
Research at Aalborg University Hospital has supported this, and we have demonstrated, among other things, that many procedures have no value for the patient, but are costly for the health budget.
But development requires the schooling you only get through research training.
Dialogue and societal perspectives
At the university hospitals, research is a prerequisite for teaching medical students and other academic staff, just as research training (PhD) is based on active research environments at the hospitals.
At a time when the pharmaceutical industry contributes a significant part of Denmark’s gross domestic product, research training is of the greatest importance for creating jobs and growth, in order to be able to finance the welfare society.
The importance of the hospital cannot be underestimated, as researchers are largely trained here.
Finally, research, development and innovation are a prerequisite for being able to attract employees at a time when the healthcare system is suffering from staff shortages.
We will advocate that research is given high priority despite times of cutbacks, as otherwise it could cause irreparable damage to the hospital system and to society, and we could risk decades of effort being thrown out with the bathwater. Unlucky choices can cause significant damage, both in the short and long term.
Research and specialized treatment are inextricably linked with health economics.
It is our wish to retain and develop the health services for the population of North Jutland.
We therefore encourage a dialogue between the politicians and the relevant professional environments. Only in this way can we together make a significant difference to society in the midst of the challenging adjustment process that the healthcare system is facing.
2024-02-15 18:43:46
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