Healthy demands

Engineers and scientists working in the NHS need better training and career development options to bring the full benefits of innovative healthcare technologies to patients, the government has admitted.

The health departments covering the UK's four nations are considering plans for more structured career paths for medical scientists, designed to ensure they can adapt to the changing demands of the healthcare system.

Medical scientists, including those engaged in engineering disciplines, face obstacles to their development because of an existing set of inflexible and often over-complex training procedures, said the

.

Novel medical and social care technologies are seen as crucial to the future of the NHS as it gears up to cope with an ageing population that will demand an ever-higher standard of healthcare, often delivered at home rather than in hospital. Improving the training and professional development of its scientists and engineers would boost the health service's ability to carry out research-and-development (R&D) work in areas such as remote patient monitoring.