Streamlining R&D Permissions in the Health Service
- Statement from the UK Health Departments
UK Health Departments agree to
harmonise systems for permission for research
In response to concerns raised by the research
community about the increasing impact of regulation and
legislation, the UK Health Departments have each sought to
streamline the administrative processes associated with research.
Each nation has taken forward activities, as have those responsible
for managing research at a local level. There is now an opportunity
to review and address any barriers to the compatibility of
processes and systems to streamline NHS/HSC R&D permissions
across the UK, given the stage of development of the various
activities.
There is broad agreement that compatibility
across the UK does not need the systems to work in exactly the same
way in all the nations, and that different systems may be necessary
for the different statutory provisions, organisational structures
and scales of each nation. Mutual acceptance of procedures
conducted and centralised elsewhere will be achieved through
UK-wide agreement of operational arrangements that allow for
acceptance of each other's systems so that activities are not
duplicated. This approach will also highlight procedures that
remain to be conducted. Work to facilitate this UK-wide agreement
is already underway and further information on the details of the
systems will be published as it becomes available.
Other activities are taking place simultaneously
that support the concept of minimising bureaucracy. These
include:
These initiatives are already linked in
development and implementation to ensure that the emerging
regulatory and governance environment for research removes
unnecessary bureaucratic burden, and facilitates high quality
clinical research, whilst protecting the rights, dignity and safety
of patients.
<statement ends>
Notes:
- This statement was published on 19 September
2007
- A short description of national
systems is also available
- In Wales, the Wales Office of R&D (WORD) has commissioned
FORWARD
to carry out a service evaluation to unify the review and approval
processes for research governance in this Devolved Administration.
More information on this project, which is entitled UniRAP, can be
accessed by clicking here.