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Frequently Asked Questions

There are a number of different kinds of projects involving data collection, research, audit, service evaluation, Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives, case notes studies, student thesis, etcetera. All of them require formal authorisation from the Trust before participants can be approached or data collected. See Choosing a study type and getting permission for more details.

Whilst the Research Office does not have the capacity to support individually, Sage has produced a seminar series' How to do research and get published'. Find the full playlist here. 

The ELFT Information Governance Team have advised:

  • Online meetings can be recorded via Teams. A retention period is automatically applied and the recording is saved to a Trust system.
  • In-person meetings can be recorded on Trust mobiles (as encrypted to AES 256 standard) when used as follows. The recording should be uploaded to the Trust Drive straight after the focus group / session and deleted from the phone once uploaded. 

When recording a session, the PIS and consent forms developed should include confirmation that participants are content with the meeting being recorded for minuting purposes and the method of recording.

Depending on your project, please also check with the Information Governance team as to whether a DPIA needs to be completed. 

Do you have a research idea in the early stages? 

The Research Support Service provides help to those preparing research proposals for submission to peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research. The advice is provided free of charge and is available through use of online resource and consultations with experts.

As the Trust's research support partner, the team at Noclor can help with your grant application and getting your study set up at ELFT. They will review your draft and identify any areas which need to be amended. Mandatory training is also provided.

If you are new to research in the NHS, or have not set up a project for a while, you may find the thought of getting approvals and setting up your study daunting. The HRA has published information to assist with planning your application for HRA Approval and preparing study documentation

There are a number of training resources available to you providing help completing forms, dealing with ethical issues, and drafting information sheets, etc.

No. Your university cannot give you permission to carry out research within this Trust. In order to carry out research within this Trust, you must also obtain NHS Health Research approval and the authorisation of the Trust in which the research will take place. 

As with all research undertaken within the Trust, a substantively employed Trust staff member is required to take overall responsibility for the proper conduct of the study. See here. 

No. All research conducted in the NHS must conform to the requirements of the Department of Health's Research Governance Framework, including work undertaken by students, and there is currently no 'fast track' process for either ethical or NHS Trust approval.

You should both familiarise yourself with the new (and more restrictive) criteria the NHS Health Research Authority applies to student research studies. It is possible for students to learn about health and social care research without completing standalone projects. Looking at other ways to build skills and experience better reflects modern research and emphasises team science. View the video of the ‘Exploring good practice in Student Research’ event to hear from course leaders about how successful these alternative approaches have been (registration is required to view) or read the NHS HRA website for further information and ideas https://www.hra.nhs.uk/student-research/.

 

The Health Research Authority (HRA) has some excellent guidance on drafting information sheets and consent forms. These documents should always be amended where necessary to reflect local content at each research site. The local contact in our Trust for raising a complaint is the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

This should also not refer to either the ELFT research office, Noclor, or (in this case) the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). There is good information on taking part in research on the NIHR Be Part of Research webpage.

Where ELFT is the sponsor of a study, the contact on behalf of the sponsor for all correspondence relating to applications for this project (IRAS A4), should be the specific Noclor research governance facilitator with whom the study team is working. You should approach Noclor at an early stage (before finalising your IRAS dataset).

Name: Priscilla Essuman
Title: Sponsorship Manager 
Address: Noclor NHS Research Office, JML House, 8 Regis Road, Kentish Town, NW5 3EG

Email: contact.noclor@nhs.net / sponsor.noclor@nhs.net
Phone: 020 3738 8986

At question A64-1, the Lead Sponsor's contact person (where ELFT is the sponsor) this should be

Name: Ms Priscilla Essuman
Organisation: Noclor NHS Research Office, JML House, 8 Regis Road, Kentish Town, NW5 3EG

Email: sponsor.noclor@nhs.net
Phone: 020 3738 8986

Regardless of the sponsor, where ELFT is the lead Trust/research site, the details of the lead NHS R&D contact for this research (IRAS A68-1) should also be the specific Noclor research governance facilitator with whom the study team is working. You should approach Noclor at an early stage (before finalising your IRAS dataset).

Name: Robert Pleas
Title: R&D Manager
Address: Noclor NHS Research Office, JML House, 8 Regis Road, Kentish Town, NW5 3EG
Email: contact.noclor@nhs.net 

Studies at ELFT are funded from external sources, such as:

Our research partner Noclor has a finance team, experienced in costing and pricing both commercial and non-commercial research. This team can also draft and review contracts between funding / sponsoring organisations and the research sites.

For further information regarding applying for a research grant, please follow this link.

Would you like to expand your knowledge related to research? Would you like to access Open Athens, research articles or books? Do you require training and support in any of these areas? If so, we have put together a list of resources which are available to ELFT Staff.

Public involvement is defined as research being carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them. It is an active partnership between patients, carers and members of the public with researchers that influences and shapes research.

When using the term ‘public’ we include patients, potential patients, carers and people who use health and social care services as well as people from specific communities and from organisations that represent people who use services. Also included are people with lived experience of one or more health conditions.

The HRA has published advice will help guide you to improve the quality and consistency of the public involvement in your research.

Health and care research should serve the public interest, which means that research sponsors have to demonstrate that their research serves the interests of society as a whole. They do this by following the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research. They also have to have a legal basis for any use of personally-identifiable information. The Health Research Authority and government departments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales set standards for NHS organisations to make sure they protect your privacy and comply with the law when they are involved in research.

The Research and Innovation Team adhere to ELFT privacy policies. More information can be found on the Privacy and Your Data webpage. 

No, it doesn't. The Trust’s Health Records Policy states, under the heading of Research and Teaching, that “principles of access and confidentiality remain the same and the right of the patient to refuse access to their records should be respected and documented in their notes” and under Information Sharing that “Explicit consent is required if identifiable service user information is used in any publication“ . This applies to equally to the work of trainees who have to follow the same principles as anyone else on obtaining informed consent.

Scenario 1: For someone working on a specific study

Option 1a: Researcher already employed by another NHS organisation

To gain needed access to ELFT, the candidate completes this NHS to NHS confirmation of pre-engagement checks form with the assistance of the HR team in her employing NHS Trust, and then sends it to Noclor requesting an NHS to NHS letter of access for ELFT.

To gain access to another NHS provider, the ELFT staff member completes this NHS to NHS confirmation of pre-engagement checks form with the assistance of the ELFT People & Culture team and then sends it to the R&D office of the Trust to which she wants access.

Option 1b: Researcher employed by a university, charity, etc.

The candidate completes his Research Passport with the assistance of his substantive employer (details in the Research in the NHS: Human Resource (HR) Good Practice Resource Pack) only once he has completed it, he submits it to the team at Noclor to obtain his “visa” to enter ELFT (i.e., a letter of access).

Scenario 2: The person will be based (full or part-time) with an ELFT team, collaborating across a wide range of studies, for an extended period

The ELFT Placement facilitator/lead/supervisor contacts ELFT placements at elft.placements@nhs.net to notify of the scheduled placement / honorary work. 

The Team will assess necessary next steps for that individual (i.e., what checks or references are required) and a Section A form will be sent for completion along with a request for any additional information.  The remaining process is conducted via ELFT’s on-line recruitment tool, Trac and a link will be sent to the applicant in order to submit their application for the role. 

All relevant forms should be received at least 4 weeks before the placement start date.

Once the above are completed, placement officers will directly contact the applicant for identity checks.

Scenario 1: Pay an ELFT Lived Experience Expert

Follow the Trust’s Service User and Carer Reward and Recognition Policy - Payment by BACS

  • Only applies to current ELFT Service Users and Carers – other individuals (even those with Lived Experience) are paid using scenario 2 or 3.

Contact elft.suc-payments@nhs.net for support.

Scenario 2: To pay an individual directly

The person must be put on the ELFT Bank and paid via payroll so appropriate tax and NI can be deducted at source.

  1. The individual should email elft.join-bank@nhs.net to get registered, if they are not already.
  2. You can the book the individual by completing the on-line booking form.

Contact the Bank team (email above) for support.

Scenario 3: Pay via an invoice from their HMRC-registered business

Set up the business as a supplier and raise a purchase order (PO) for the expected service / contract / invoice. Remember ELFT operates a ‘no PO, no pay’ policy.

Please remember that invoices from an individual (not a company) cannot be accepted at ELFT.

Invoices submitted to the Trust must quote the ELFT Purchase Order number and should explicitly mention the period during which the expenditure was incurred.

Please address your invoice to:
East London NHS Foundation Trust
RWK Payables 6765
PO Box 312
Leeds LS11 1HP

Organisations may register for e-invoicing via Tradeshift or submit PDF invoices to sbs.apinvoicing@nhs.net  for more information visit: https://www.sbs.nhs.uk/supplier-einvoicing

The invoice is scanned by NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) who process all our invoices, and then it will be sent electronically for approval. Once approved it goes into the payment run. It is taking approx. 5-10 working days for invoices to be scanned and our payment terms are 30 days from the date of the invoice.

Queries about invoices or payments, should be addressed directly to ELFT accounts payable at NHS Shared Business Services 0303 123 1177 or using the Supplier Contact Form at https://www.sbs.nhs.uk/supplier-information/#contact. 

Scenario 1: For an individual on the ELFT payroll

Follow the Trust’s Expenses Policy and submit using the e-expenses portal.

Scenario 2: For an ELFT Lived Experience Expert

Follow the Trust’s Service User and Carer Reward and Recognition Policy - Payment by BACS

  • Only applies to current ELFT Service Users and Carers – other individuals (even those with Lived Experience) are paid using scenario 1 or 3.

Contact elft.suc-payments@nhs.net for support.

Scenario 3: Expenses incurred by an individual outside ELFT

Submit a Manual Cheque Request using the on-line form.

  • Please read the policy prior to submitting the form.
  • The form cannot be used to pay invoices (see how to submit an invoice) or reimburse staff expenses.

Register attendees using the conference provider’s instructions

  • Follow the Trust's Requisition to Payment Process (using Oracle) and charge to the appropriate budget

Travel and accommodation can be booked via the CTM Portal / Lightning and charged to the appropriate budget

ELFT staff have access to a statistician through our Noclor partnership with whom study teams can consult to advise them on their work.  To arrange a consultation, please send some details of the study and the help you need to elft.researchoffice@nhs.net.