The appointment of the president and provost of University College London to the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust cements a relationship based on research

Dr Michael Spence, president and provost of University College London (UCL) has this week joined the board as a non-executive director of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL).

Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital are part of the Royal Free London group, and North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust became RFL first clinical partner in September 2017. RFL is a member of the academic health science partnership UCL Partners, which brings people and organisations together to transform the health and wellbeing of the population.

The appointment of Dr Spence to the board of RFL further cements the long-standing partnership between UCL and the NHS Trust which has, in recent months, seen it achieve top ten status for recruitment into academic studies.

Since April 2023, the RFL has led on 183 research studies, involving nearly 7,000 recruits – many in collaboration with UCL. Education and training are also fundamental to the RFL which offers more than 600 postgraduate training posts, across over 70 specialties, and hosts more than 300 nursing and midwifery students.

Dr Spence said: “It is a real privilege to be taking my place on the board of the Royal Free London. The partnership between the trust and university is growing and is most visible when you walk around the Royal Free Hospital Campus where UCL hosts a medical school and where you can’t fail to be impressed by the Pears Building, home of the UCL Institute of Immunity and Transplantation.

“We know that teaching hospital trusts with a strong research focus deliver the best outcomes for patients, and I am excited by the ambitious agenda being set by the RFL board, despite all the ongoing challenges the NHS is facing. I cannot wait to play my part in helping the trust to deliver on that – developing its staff and providing the very best care to patients.”

Dr Spence AC joined UCL as President & Provost in January 2021, from the University of Sydney where he was Vice-Chancellor from 2008 to 2020. In his first years at UCL, he led the university through the complexities of reopening campus following the end of Covid lockdowns and the transition from online back to in-person learning. He also oversaw the opening of UCL East, UCL’s major new campus in East London, in September 2022.

Mark Lam, chair of the Royal Free London, described the appointment as a huge moment for the trust. “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Dr Spence to our board. This is an historic moment in the close relationship between UCL and the Royal Free London. We are incredibly proud of our partnership with UCL which is crucial to our ambition to become one of the leading research and academic institutions in the NHS.

“UCL opened university education to the many, not the few, in 1826; and since our foundation in 1828, the Royal Free London has had a pioneering history, leading the way in many areas of healthcare. Dr Spence’s appointment is another chapter in that illustrious history.”

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