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The Academic Centre for Healthy Ageing (ACHA) is a new centre for:
We’re focused on improving care and support for older people in north east London, so older age is as healthy, independent and enjoyable as possible.
ACHA is a collaborative project between Barts Health NHS Trust, Queen Mary University of London and Barts Charity.
Based within Whipps Cross Hospital, with strong local community links, ACHA is closely connected to the Integrated Delivery Framework (IDF), a system-wide approach to transforming health and care services across the whole Whipps Cross catchment area. This means all our research happens where patient care happens.
By placing the research centre in a hospital, closely connected to local health and care services, ACHA can connect research to a collaborative network of clinicians, researchers, educators, policymakers and, most importantly, the local community.
All our research happens in real world ‘frontline’ care settings and involving patients and caregivers. Because of this, we can produce high quality evidence of what works. Connecting with national experts and networks, we can use this knowledge to change services to better support people as they grow older, helping them to live well and independently.
Working with organisations including NIHR, ACHA aims to support and encourage research career opportunities. Encouraging those in roles less traditionally associated with research to get involved, such as nurses, allied health professionals, health visitors, ambulance staff, or care home workers.
ACHA will work with local health and care partners to offer protected academic time working on research, supported by a permanent senior academic faculty and infrastructure. Employers will be reimbursed for staff time spent in these academic activities.
Through education and training programmes, we will apply the results of ACHA’s research to change how care is delivered, helping reshape, upskill and grow the local health and care workforce. Patients benefit from improved care, and caregivers have new opportunities for career development.
The education and training opportunities ACHA creates will help to attract, retain and develop staff, particularly in posts which have previously been hard to fill.
The views and needs of our diverse local communities will inform everything we do: our research, our training and education programmes, and, mostly importantly, how we should design and deliver health and care services to improve the ways in which people can grow older.
We have a Community Advisory Group, and are always looking to grow our community connections. If you would like to know more or get involved, please email bartshealth.acha@nhs.net