Hospital poaches team of cancer specialists

A hospital has poached 50 cancer specialists from a rival research organisation in a bid to boost their international profile.

Bosses at University College London persuaded an entire research team to quit their jobs at Queen Mary's University to work on new treatments for ovarian cancer.

They hope the new recruits will catapult their women's health research centre into a new league.

But the tactics have infuriated Queen Mary's bosses and could have serious implications for patients. Many now face a choice between travelling to University College London in order to continue seeing the same specialist, or switching specialists half way through their treatment.

Details of the coup emerged today after University College London, linked to University College Hospital-revealed it had poached international cancer specialist Professor Ian Jacobs from Queen Mary's University medical school. Queen Mary's is linked to Bart's and the London Hospital, where many of the researchers are employed as consultants and run clinics.

Professor Jacobs is regarded as a

world authority on ovarian cancer and heads a 50-strong team carrying out trials on new treatments.

He and his team have about £25million worth of grants from the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK and the NHS, all of which will move with them. The team represents a major chunk of Queen Mary's Cancer Institute.

The move is the most graphic example yet of the medical " transfer market".

Professor Jacobs will head a new department of gynaecological oncology at UCL, as well as the new Institute of Women's Health.

Today Queen Mary's played down the loss, stressing that most of the team's funding had already been spent. A spokeswoman said: "People come, people go."

Queen Mary's Cancer Institute has 260 researchers - though the spokeswoman stressed that the university employs dozens more cancer researchers in other faculties.

However, sources close to Queen Mary's said UCL's decision to make an effusive announcement had ruffled feathers. An insider said: "These sort of transfers happen all the time, but it is not the done thing to trumpet it."