Ethical review
The trust follows the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research which sets out the principles of good practice and the management, delivery and conduct of health and social care research in the UK. The framework aims to protect and promote interest of public by outlining the basis for ethical conduct and management of research in health and social care, with the aim to provide assurance and high-quality outcomes.
All research studies in the UK and delivered in the NHS must as a minimum have:
- A sponsor – an organisation which takes responsibility for ensuring the proper approvals and arrangements are in place to ensure research can be delivered efficiently and effectively.
- A sponsor – an organisation which takes responsibility for ensuring the proper approvals and arrangements are in place to ensure research can be delivered efficiently and effectively.
- National Approval (As applicable) – not all studies will require the same approvals, and different regulatory bodies have distinct roles and responsibilities in reviewing studies depending on the activities conducted. More information about regulatory bodies can be found below or via the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS) help page. The two most common reviews and approvals required for research delivered in the NHS is:
o Research Ethics Committee Approval
o Health Research Authority approval
- Local hosted approval – this is the approval from the organisation that will be delivering the research on their site and with their staff/ patients. Confirming that a local trust can deliver a research study is called receiving capacity and capability (C&C).
- Funding – this can be internal or external. Studies with funding are often on the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) portfolio, which allows the Research Delivery Team (RDT) to support locally. When a study has no funding for delivery, the project will be mainly clinician delivered, but the Research Support Team (RST) will be able to provide guidance if needed.
Last updated07 Oct 2025