Professor Chris Burton

My passion is improving lives, by leading work across health-related education, research and supporting the development of health and professional policy and practice. I have been a Head of School for eight years in both England and Wales, elected by my peers as Vice Chair, Council of Deans of Health (Wales), and am currently Chair of the Council’s Research Policy Strategy Group. I am passionate about building the health workforce of the future through the leadership of vibrant academic Schools as the catalyst for innovation within their ecosystems. Partnerships with students, staff, the public, service partners and policy makers are at the core of my leadership of both education and research.

I have built a comprehensive programme of research spanning nursing practice and policy, stroke rehabilitation, and implementation, or closing the gap between evidence in all its forms, policy and the delivery of care through the coproduction of research. Supported by prestigious funders such as the National Institute for Health and Care Research (value of grants active in the last 10 years is £12M, £2.2M of which are grants as Chief Investigator), my current research is investigating the evidence-base for (de)implementation; implementation within Low and Middle Income Countries; the economic and clinical effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions; improving clinical decision-making in end-of-life stroke care; and policy implementation and impacts in healthcare, including safe staffing in the National Health Service. My research partnerships extend globally across different healthcare systems, and a wide range of disciplinary and methodological networks. I co-led the development of implementation research at Bangor University, recognised by key stakeholders as internationally excellent. My leadership in this area was recognised through a personal award from the Health Foundation as an Improvement Science Fellow, and the conferment of a Personal Chair at Bangor University. I have led healthcare improvement through leadership programmes commissioned by NHS organisations, the Department of Health, Health Education England, and the Scottish Government. 

2007 – 2019: Noreen Edwards Chair of Nursing Research and Head of School (School of Health Sciences, Bangor University)

2004 – 2007: Senior Research Fellow (Principal Lecturer grade), Clinical Practice Research Unit, Department of Nursing, University of Central Lancashire.

2003 – 2004: Lecturer in Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield.

2002 – 2002: Lecturer (Older People), School of Healthcare Studies, University of Leeds.

1994 – 2002: Senior Lecturer in Nursing, University of Central Lancashire

1992 – 1994: Staff Nurse then Practice Development Nurse, Royal Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Research Grants (Running in the Last 10 Years)

£369,404 Service configurations for psychosis – what works for whom in what combinations and contexts and why? A realist evidence synthesis (NIHR HS&DR, 2023) Holtum S., Burton C.

£221,635 Developing the Reporting Radiographer Workforce: What works, for whom and in what contexts (Health Education England, 2023) Burton C., Woznitza N., Lockwood P.

£828,912 – Predictive Risk Stratification M0dules: Assessment of Implementation Consequences (PRISMATIC 2) (NIHR HS&DR, 2022) Snooks H., Watkins A., Porter A., Sewell B., Evans B., Wallace E., Jones J., Kingston M., Burton C., Dale J.

£379,148 - Implementation of Schwartz Rounds and Student Advocates across NHS Kent and Medway (Health Education England, 2022) Burton C., Taylor J.

£76,528 – Benchmarking Diagnostic Radiographer Reporting Performance across NHS London (Health Education England, 2021) Burton C., Woznitza N.

£525,826 - A mixed-methods investigation of the delivery, impact and acceptability of a national de-adoption programme across Clinical Commissioning Groups in the English National Health Service (NIHR HS&DR, 2020) Rooshenas L., Hollingworth W., Jones T., Tucker V., Thornton G., Donovan J., Owen-Smith A., Blazeby J., Gibson A., Burton C., Williams I., Bell M.

£149,980 – ‘PREPARE: Improving end of life care practice in stroke care (NIHR Programme Development Grant, 2020) Lightbody C., Watkins C., Wee B., Clegg A., Burton C., Sprigg N., Jenkinson D., Forshaw D., Medina-Lara A., Prescott G., Brotherton A. & Ogden M.

£814,186 – ‘Inside the Black Box: An Ethnographic Examination of Nurses’ Professional Judgement in Nurse Staffing Systems in England and Wales’ (Royal College of Nursing Foundation, 2019) Allen D., Jones A., Rafferty A.M & Burton C.

£249,178 - ‘Evaluation of Dental Contract Reform’ (Welsh Government / Public Health Wales, 2019) Brocklehurst P., Williams S., Williams L. Jones L. & Burton C.

£245,057 – ‘The role of primary care in reducing the decline in physical function and physical activity in people with long-term conditions; what works, for whom and in what circumstances? A realist synthesis of evidence’ (NIHR HS&DR, 2018) Law R., Hall B., Hiscock J., Williams L., Gallanders J., Lemmy A., Burton C., Williams N. & Morrison V.

£400,323 (GBP equivalent) – ‘Building the Implementation Workforce for Health and Social Care’ (EU Erasmus +, 2018) A partnership across Norway, Sweden, Portugal and the United Kingdom (Bangor / Canterbury Christ Church University).

£223,969 – ‘De-implementation in health and care services: what works, for whom, why, and in which contexts? A Realist Synthesis’ (NIHR HS&DR, 2017) Burton C., Williams L., Rycroft Malone J., Parkinson J., Harris G. & Makin M.

£483,758 - ‘Implementation, impact and costs of policies for safe staffing in acute NHS trusts’ (Department of Health PRP Programme, 2016) Ball J., Griffiths P. & Burton C.

£402,378 – ‘Can H-Ts maintain the oral health of routine low-risk dental recall patients in "high-street" dental practices: a pilot study’ (NIHR HS&DR, 2017) Shen J. Gough L., Williams L., Hoare Z., Ashley G, Hinde S., Burton C. & Preshaw P.

£168,000 – ‘NHS Managers use of Workforce Planning Tools: What works, for whom, in what circumstances’ (NIHR HSDR Programme, 2015) Burton C., Rycroft Malone J. & McBride A.

£1,966,071 – ‘A randomised controlled trial of Lee Silverman Speech and Language Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease (NIHR HTA Programme, 2015) Sackley C., Walker M., Burton C., et al.

£122,927 – ‘Managing Diabetes in People with Dementia (DiaMonD)’ (NIHR HTA Programme, 2015) Rycroft-Malone J., Burton C., Reece-Jones P., Goodman C., Bunn F., Bayer A. & Sinclair A.

£202,122 – ‘What does the Resource Based View of the Firm offer improvement science? Investigating the resource consequences and impacts of improvement’ (Health Foundation, 2013) Burton C.

£136,000 – ‘Peer support for social and leisure activities after stroke’ (National Institute for Social Care and Health Research, 2013) Burton C., Williams S., Morrison V., Seddon D., Radford K. & Whale Z.

£149,000 – ‘Improving skills and care standards in the clinical support workforce: a realist synthesis of workforce development and interventions’ (NIHR HSDR Programme, 2013) Rycroft Malone J., Burton C., McCormack B., Nutley S. & Seddon D.

£145,000 – ‘Initiating End of Life in Acute Stroke’ (Marie Curie Cancer Care, 2012) Burton C., Payne S., Williams S, Rycroft Malone J., Fowell A., Tyrell P. & Bucknall T.

£100,310 – ‘SUPSS: A Discrete Choice Experiment of Service User Preferences for Stroke Services’ (National Institute for Social Care and Health Research, 2010) Burton C., Fargher E., Roberts G., Elghenzai S., Owen R. & Lambert S.

£592,455 – ‘Evaluating Partnerships Between Universities & NHS Organisations: Learning from the NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research & Care (NIHR Service Delivery and Organisation Programme, 2009) Rycroft Malone J., McCormack B., Dopson S., Thompson C., Harvey G., Baker R., Burton C., Graham I., Staniszewska S. & Andrews G.

£1,920,000 – ‘A cluster randomised controlled trial of an occupational therapy intervention for residents with stroke living in UK care-homes’ (NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme, 2009) Sackley C., Wheatley K., Yao L., Mant J., Watkins C., Burton C., Lett K. & Walker M.

£1,202,831 – ‘ICONS – Identifying Continence Options after Stroke’ (Programme Grant – National Institute for Health Research, 2008) Watkins C., Campbell A., Thomas L., Cheater F., Barrett J., Roe B., Sutton C., Leathley M., Carter B., Brittain K., Burton C., Booth J.

Further publications available at: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1159-1494 

• Non-Executive Director (Academic) - Medway NHS Foundation Trust
• Vice Chair, Council of Deans Health (Wales) (elected)
• Chair, Research Policy Strategy Group, Council of Deans of Health (elected)
• Improvement Science Fellow, Health Foundation (awarded)
• President of the Society for Research in Rehabilitation (elected)
• Expert Advisor and Funding Panel Member, Dunhill Medical Trust (nominated)
• Associate Member to the National Institute for Health Research’s commissioning panel for its Health Service & Delivery Research Programme (nominated)
• Expert Advisor, Stroke Association Research Committee (nominated)
• Member, Personal Research Awards and Scholarship Programme, Stroke Association (nominated)
• Member, Intercollegiate Working Party for Stroke, Royal College of Physicians (nominated)