Partners
The range and diversity of interests and activities in which the Institute engages to fulfil its charitable objectives have led, inexorably, to the development of a complex network of relationships and partnerships with other organisations. Some of these are formal; some are less formal.
This page describes in more general terms the generic nature of the partnerships that the Institute has, whether formal or informal.
As a professional body and learned society, the Institute engages with other organisations that are professional bodies, learned societies or, like the Institute, both, and who have interests in related fields. It relates to sister-scientific bodies mainly through the Science Council but, inevitably has stronger bi-lateral relationships with some than with others. Likewise, it relates to sister-engineering institutions mainly through the Engineering Council, but has several string bi-lateral relationships but also a significant multi-lateral relationship with the engineering institutions that are members of AIME, the Association concerned with Medical Engineering.
There are also organisations and groups of professional scientists working in healthcare, not many of which are associated with the Science Council or the Engineering Council, and the Institute relates to these principally through the Federation of Healthcare Sciences.
The primary focus of the Institute's purpose, on applications of the physical sciences, engineering and technology to healthcare, leads to activities in partnership with other professional bodies and learned societies in the healthcare sector. These include the medical Royal colleges, nursing, a number of allied health professions and multi-professional organisations that have as a focus a particular technology or application of science, for example ultrasound and nuclear medicine.
Developments in scientific research and the changing priorities within the NHS have created the need for the Institute to develop stronger links with universities, especially university departments that are not directly linked NHS medical physics and engineering departments but are engaged in work that has applications to medicine and biology.
Changes in the way that the NHS is financed, especially through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) for capital projects, has created the need for the Institute to develop stronger links with healthcare industries and their construction industry partners, to ensure that technical specifications are properly understood and that new projects are delivered, that will provide the standards of excellence in science, engineering and technology capability that the Institute has striven to promote.