HR Procedures for RM&G Staff

Background

In the past, there was no clear, national guidance on the procedures for handling HR arrangements for researchers in the NHS. In many cases Honorary Research Contracts (HRC) were being issued inappropriately, resulting either in a lack of clarity about liability or waste of resources and the NHS accepting liability inappropriately, depending on whether they were under- or overused. Pre-engagement checks were also being performed unnecessarily, resulting in delay and waste of resources.

In response to this situation, standardised procedures and a Research Passport system have been introduced. The new system and procedures feed into the NIHR Coordinated System for gaining NHS Permission (CSP).

Procedures

The new HR procedures are set out in the Research in the NHS – HR Good Practice Resource Pack . This pack has been amended to incorporate the Vetting and Barring Scheme.The requirements differ depending on the status of the researcher and are set out in Table 1 of HR Good Practice: Information for researchers, R&D and HR staff in Higher Education Institutions and the NHS:

Research Passport

The Pesearch Passport is essentially an application form that provides information regarding the researcher and the research process involved in the study to the NHS Trust hosting the research. This information will enable the Trust to decide whether reliance can be placed on existing checks before issuing an HRC or a Letter of Access setting out the researcher’s responsibilities and allowing access to patients. The Research Passport will be presented, along with supporting documentation, to every Trust that the researcher wishes to conduct research in. It is important to note that the Research Passport does not obviate the need for a researcher to obtain an HRC, or letter setting out the researcher’s responsibilities and allowing access to patients, from each Trust. It is simply intended to speed up the process and reduce the need for fresh pre-engagement checks.

Guidance Documents

The main source of guidance is the Research in the NHS – HR Good Practice Resource Pack which can be found on the Research Passport page of the NIHR website.