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Our campaign aims to raise awareness of the work and value of engineers within the NHS, and the benefits to the service by creating the position of Chief Biomedical Engineer at every NHS acute Trust, similar to Chief Nurse or Chief Medical Officer.
It is estimated that by more professional and knowledgeable procurement and management of equipment, the NHS could save up to £700M each year which could then be redirected to frontline services. Today the NHS costs the UK over £115bn a year. This cost is inevitably going to grow as we experience a changing population demographic, our life spans increase and more advanced, and expensive, treatments become available. As government continues its efforts to tighten the national budget, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the NHS to fulfil these obligations.
Engineers and technicians play a vital, if hidden and undervalued, role within the NHS and the wider UK healthcare industry. Technological developments by engineers enable the diagnosis of illnesses, facilitate better treatments, can provide independent and remote monitoring of patients, and have the potential to play a huge role in relieving the pressure on stretched staff, resources and budgets.
Key benefits of a Chief Biomedical Engineer:
In this campaign document, we call for a Chief Biomedical Engineer position to be created in each acute NHS Trust in the UK.
In this report we detail 14 case studies from British universities and industry which exemplify the role of biomedical engineering.
Our Engineering Policy Unit works closely with members to raise the profile of engineers and engineering potential, to generate discussion and provide thought leadership.
Read our policy-related Themes and reports
Contact the Press Office if you are a member of the media and would like an expert comment about our Healthcare theme or campaigns.
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For out of hours, call +44 (0)773 064 4134 or +44 (0)7713 565 683.
Want to get involved or find out more about the Association's events, awards and activities?
Visit the Biomedical Engineering Association