What is the difference between a Research Ethics Committee (REC) and the Ethics and Confidentiality Committee (ECC)?
The REC’s role is to consider the ethical implications of a research study. RECs provide an opinion on the rights, safety, dignity and well-being of people participating in research. The ECC assesses whether it is appropriate to provide legal support to access patient identifiable information without consent. Section 251 support for medical research is conditional on a favourable REC opinion. Other activities which are not medical research do not require REC approval. To streamline approval processes the ECC will consider applications where a REC opinion is pending.
