Posted on
5 February 2025
Read time
2 minutes
People in North East London age differently. They become frailer at younger ages and are more likely to experience ill health as they age than in other parts of the city. The Academic Centre for Healthy Ageing (ACHA) is a unique opportunity to work with the people and communities of North East London to conduct research that will help us understand how people in this part of the city can age more healthily. It will look at health and social care services, and how they can be better designed to support an ageing population. It will also consider how people can act earlier in their lives to protect their health and wellbeing for longer.
The research conducted in ACHA will be relevant to the people of North East London, but globally important. Population ageing is one of the biggest challenges of our time and people around the world are watching for the insights that ACHA might deliver. The ambition is to make ACHA one of the leading centres for this type of research anywhere in the world.
ACHA is only possible because of the generous support of the Barts Charity. Everything we have done to set up the Centre so far is because of a Barts Charity grant. Barts Charity is the dedicated charity for Barts Health NHS Trust. It supports Whipps Cross, St Bartholomew’s, Newham, Royal London, and Mile End hospitals, as well as the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London. They aim to make better healthcare possible, funding brilliant ideas and ground-breaking research to transform lives, with a particular focus on the diverse communities of North East London.
In recognition of the amazing work supported by Barts Charity and to recognise their visionary support for ACHA, three academic doctors will run the Hackney Half Marathon to raise funds in support of the Charity’s work. Prof Liz Sampson and Prof Adam Gordon are ACHA founding professors. Prof Simon Conroy is an academic geriatrician at Royal London Hospital and an ACHA affiliate. Please show your support for the work of the Barts Charity by sponsoring them through their training and for their run. You can learn more about their run and show your support here.
If you’d like to join us to raise money for this important cause, contact us at: bartshealth.acha@nhs.net