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Working Together

...with our partners

The Trust’s strength lies in the combination of its different roles:

as a local hospital for our community

a specialist hospital on a regional and national basis

a teaching hospital for the University of Cambridge, and

a major research centre

These connections combine to deliver positive benefits for our patients.

In Research

Cambridge University Hospitals is one of the very few places in the UK that provides a centre of research excellence together with a complete clinical infrastructure.

The Trust shares its campus with a number of internationally renowned organisations:

Cancer Research UK (CRUK)

GlaxoSmithKline

Medical Research Council (MRC)

University of Cambridge

Wellcome Trust

Cambridge scientists have long been pushing at the frontiers of knowledge and have made outstanding contributions to medicine-related science. Thirteen scientists based on the hospital campus have been rewarded with the Nobel prize – the highest international accolade for scientists.

In the hospital, clinical teams work alongside world-class scientists and it is this co-existence of experience and expertise that fosters translational research – turning basic science into new drugs and new therapies to improve patient care. Over 1,000 projects and 400 clinical trials are run by the hospitals’ staff.

In December 2005, Cambridge University Hospitals in partnership with the University of Cambridge was designated as one of the government’s new National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centres, and will receive substantial new Research and Development funding from the NIHR.

The Biomedical Research Centre will address major health priorities in cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity diabetes and metabolic disorders, imaging, infection and immunity, genetics, musculoskeletal disorders, neurosciences, transplantation, women’s health, and capacity development and training.

In February 2007 the new European headquarters for Cancer Research UK based on the campus were opened by the Queen. More than 300 scientists in up to thirty research groups will be based at the Institute which is dedicated to state-of-the-art research into the causes of cancer, and developing new treatments and bringing them to the clinic to benefit cancer patients.

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In Education

The University of Cambridge , School of Clinical Medicine on the Addenbrooke’s campus is a major centre for biomedical research and education of world-leading quality. In the most recent University Funding Council Research Selectivity Exercise, Cambridge shared the highest score for any clinical school in the country.

The University of Cambridge has granted medical degrees since at least 1363, but could not offer undergraduate clinical education until the clinical school was formally established in 1975 with purpose-built accommodation at Addenbrooke’s. In addition to these facilities comprising lecture theatres, seminar rooms and a first-class medical library, a postgraduate education centre was opened in the Clinical School building in 1980.

The most recent HEFCE teaching quality assessment of Cambridge ’s undergraduate clinical education judged the learning facilities and the teaching in the Clinical School to be of the highest quality.

The Clinical School admits 145 students annually for the clinical component of their medical education. The majority of students follow a three-year clinical course with a strong emphasis on bedside clinical skills as well as clinical science. 

Members of the consultant staff at Addenbrooke’s Hospital are expected to participate in teaching of clinical students under the guidance of the director of medical education and clinical dean and with the appropriate attachment director. 

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Our Staff

The Trust’s reputation rests on the skill and dedication of our staff: they are the Trust and it is their teamwork, energy, commitment, innovation and imagination that deliver our service.

The Trust’s philosophy is to place the patient and the patient experience at the heart of everything we do. Our approach is to focus on improving our standards; to challenge and explore new ways of working; to harness technology; to invest in staff development and in new facilities; to question how we work in the future and how we can work better and smarter.

We are accountable to our membership and our community for what we do and how we do it and therefore we are open about our actions and realise that we should never be complacent about any aspect of our performance. The Trust examines performance critically so that we can build on good practice and learn from any mistakes thereby achieving more efficient and effective ways of working.

Like all other trusts in the country, achieving key clinical and performance targets remains a priority for all staff as the visible and measurable standard of our service, but we also do not lose sight of the fact that this service is about people – staff and patients. At the Trust’s recent open day over three thousand people visited the hospital to have a look behind the scenes, try their hand at all sorts of activities and have a good day out. Visitor feedback on the day gives us just as much indication of how people view and measure the hospital as any of the targets: “It was a privilege to spend time here – a stimulating, unique, educational insight,” “Very friendly staff, and lots of things to do and see” and “A fantastic day – how proud we are of Addenbrooke’s and its staff.”

Addenbrooke’s has built on a culture of involvement and collaboration with staff, patients, members, stakeholders and the local community helping us to deliver a responsive service while at the same time shaping the future strategic development of the Trust. This spirit of collaboration and involvement defines the character of the Trust.

The Trust embraces change as an opportunity to improve and evolve the service we are providing. The immediate future signals its fair share of challenges as the NHS begins to experience the impact of patient choice and the service as a whole shifts to a more competitive stance. We will need to anticipate patients’ expectations, help them to make more informed and healthy choices, and be flexible enough in providing services to respond to the needs of the individual. Our approach to this will be to collaborate with our partners in the local health care economy to provide the best possible care in the most appropriate surroundings for our patients.