NHS England has responded to its consultation on 'Supporting research in the NHS', which included proposals around the management of Excess Treatment Costs in the NHS and processes to streamline set-up for multi-site trials.
The Academy welcomes the proposals to better manage Excess Treatment Costs (ETCs) and improve clinical research set-up and reporting in the NHS, as outlined in NHS England’s response to its recent consultation, published today. This is an important step towards continuing to improve and embed research in the NHS, and we look forward to seeing further detail and clarity on how these proposals will be implemented in practice, which will be essential to ensuring success.
As outlined in the Academy’s 2011 report on ‘A new pathway for the regulation and governance of health research,’ there have been significant challenges around definitions, allocation and management of research costs such as ETCs, which have impeded important research. Similarly, delays in multi-site trials were described as the ‘single greatest barrier to health research’. Therefore the Academy supports NHS England's steps to enhancing the clinical research landscape in the UK by addressing these research barriers. Our response to NHS England’s consultation can be found on the righthand side of the page.
Response to NHS England consultation on supporting research in the NHS