School of Health & Medical Sciences Research Ethics Committee

Applicants will be notified of the School of Health & Medical Sciences decision within 10 working days of the meeting. The SHMS REC can make the following eight decisions:

• Reject the application outright
• Refer the application to Senate REC
• Reject the application and ask for a resubmission
• Ask for amendments and clarifications to be considered by the Chair plus additional members of the SHMS REC
• Ask for amendments and clarifications to be considered by the Chair
• Grant full ethical approval at the meeting, with no changes required
• Additionally the SHMS REC may make recommendations which are not formally part of the ethical approval but which applicants, especially students, may find useful.

All medium risk application for the SHMS Research Ethics Committee can now be submitted at anytime. We will then assign reviewers and ask for all comments to be returned to us within two weeks. Applicants can then expect to hear from the committee 7-10 days later.

Please note that applications from staff and students in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience are dealt with by a separate committee with monthly deadlines, these can be found in the Psychology section on the School ethics Moodle page.

All proportionate review applications for Nursing, HSRM (including Food Policy), Maternal and Child Health, Optometry can be submitted at any time.

Proportionate review committees for Languages and Communication Sciences

Latest submission dates for paperwork

1. To consider the ethical and legal implications of all research involving experiments, investigations and procedures involving human participants carried out in the School of Health & Medical Sciences, or under its auspices, that are not subject to direct oversight by Senate REC.
2. To consider the ethical and legal implications arising from research projects collecting, using and/or storing personal data carried out in the School of Health & Medical Sciences, or under its auspices, that are not subject to the direct oversight by Senate REC.
3. To devise guidance, set standards, propose and review policy on the ethical conduct of research within the School of Health & Medical Sciences in conjunction with Senate REC and the SHMS Research Committee.
4. To approve proportionate review delegation frameworks and procedures relating to research ethics in SHMS in conjunction with Senate REC and the SHMS Research Committee.
5. To receive from individual members of academic staff, students, proportionate review streams, proposals for all other research involving experiments, investigations and procedures falling within its terms of reference (1 & 2) and to allow, refer back or disallow such proposals, specifying where necessary any conditions subject to which proposals may be allowed.
6. In carrying out its responsibilities, to seek and take account of all necessary advice from sources within and without City St George's.
7. To report to Senate REC annually on the research, experiments, investigations and procedures which have been allowed by the Committee through the Chair of the Committee.
8. To receive minutes and reports from proportionate review within SHMS and to carry out spot checks on the effectiveness of procedures and standards adopted by proportionate review streams.
9. To submit a copy of the minutes of each meeting to Senate REC and SHMS Research Committee.

The composition is intended to reflect the diversity of research activity within the School of Health & Medical Sciences. Members are asked to join on the basis of an interest in research ethics and a desire to contribute. Each research centre within the school also sends a delegate, those who lead the proportionate review streams are also required to attend.

The composition of the SHMS REC includes a Chair and two Deputy Chairs and up to 8 other academics from the school. There are also two external members, and two ex-officio members: the Information Assurance Officer and the Secretary to Senate REC, both from City St George's, University of London. At present there is no student member nor a lay external member.

The SHMS REC is supported by the Research Governance Officer within the School.

From 1st September 2017 the tenure on the committee will be as follows:

Chair and Deputy Chairs: up to 5 years with one reappointment, (total of 10 years) thereafter they must step down for a year. Appointed by the Associate Dean for Research.

Ordinary members: up to 3 years initially with two reappointments for 3 years (a total of 9 years) thereafter they must step down for a year. Appointed by the Chair.

Ex offcio members: the Information Assurance Officer and the Secretary to Senate REC, both from City St George's, University London, duration of their tenure. Ex officio.

External members: up to five years with one reappointment, (total of 10 years) thereafter they must step down. Appointed by the Associate Dean for Research and Chair SHMS REC.

Committee

• Nick Drey (Chair), Internal, (2008-), Senior Lecturer, Nursing
• Martin Cartwright (DC), Internal, (2015- ), Senior Lecturer, HSRM
• (DC) - Vacant, Internal

Members

• Rachel Holland, Internal, (2014-), Lecturer, LCS, Joint lead: LCS proportionate review
• Kathleen Mulligan, Internal, (2013-), Senior Research Fellow, HSRM
• Katherine Curtis-Tyler, Internal, (2014-), Senior Lecturer, Child Health, Lead: Maternal and Child Health proportionate review
• Julie MacLaren, Internal, (2021-), Senior Lecturer, Education Development, Nursing, Lead: Nursing proportionate review
• Liam Mannion, Internal, (2019-), Lecturer, Radiography, Lead: Radiography proportionate review
• Anna Isaacs, Internal, (2020-), Research Fellow, Food Policy, Lead: Food Policy proportionate review
• Jessie Cooper, Internal, (2020-), Lecturer, HSRM, Lead: HSRM proportionate review
• Mike Powner, Internal, (2020-), Senior Lecturer, Applied Vision Research
• Lorna Ryan, External, (2021-), Research Manager for the European Social Survey Infrastructure Preparatory Phase, School of Arts and Social Sciences. Expert in Research Ethics
• Anna Ramberg (City), External, (2008-), Secretary to Senate REC
• Alison Welton, Internal, (2010-), Secretary to SHMS REC

External members

• Deanna Gibbs (BLT), External, (2010-), Research Consultant, Barts Health NHS Trust
• Kirti Patel (Imperial College), External, (2011-), Research Contracts Manager, Imperial College London

This policy will be reviewed every two years, commencing in June 2019. The SHMS REC will review its terms of reference at the first meeting of each academic year in September.

The School of Health & Medical Sciences does not require an individual researcher to subscribe to any particular framework for the ethical review and conduct of research. However, it expects applicants to ensure that the rights, dignity and safety of participants, researchers and third parties are maintained and promoted at all times, that legal and national policy requirements for research are followed, and that City St George's is protected from reputational and financial risk.

We expect applicants to follow appropriate governmental, professional and academic guidance and to articulate within the application the approach that they are taking. In particular, there are professional codes covering research ethics that are obligatory for registrant researchers to follow: for example those produced by the NMC, GMC and British Psychological Society, amongst others. More general codes or frameworks that applicants are referred to include: the Framework for Research Ethics from the ESRC, Principalism (the Four Principles plus Scope), the Social Research Association and numerous additional specialist guidance. The Health Research Authority (HRA) has mandatory guidance for research projects involving patients and staff.