What is a Research Passport?
Research passports are a mechanism to allow employers to share information about the pre-engagement checks they have carried out with the relevant NHS organisations where the researcher will be carrying out their studies. Not all researchers will require a research passport. For example, those already employed by NHS organisations or clinical academics who have an honorary clinical contract with the NHS will not require a research passport. Researchers who have no contractual relationship with the NHS may need a research passport but not all types of research activity require a research passport.
Research passports are issued for a period of three years. They may either be project-specific or, for researchers with an ongoing research portfolio, allow the researcher to carry out a number of different projects over the course of three years. Where research activity lasts for longer than three years, it will be necessary to make a new application for a Research Passport and at this time further checks, such as new CRB checks, may be required.
The NHS organisation where the research is to be undertaken will decide on whether or not an HRC is required. It may still be necessary to carry out pre-engagement checks even where an HRC is not necessary and for this a research passport should be used to show that the checks have been carried out.
What kind of research may require a research passport?
The following table, reproduced from the resource pack, indicates the type of research where HRCs are necessary and some of the pre-engagement checks that may be required. Researchers involved in the burgundy areas of activity shown on the table are likely to require a Research Passport.
The NHS organisation hosting the research will confirm:
- if a Research Passport is required;
- if an honorary research contract is required; and
- which pre-employment checks are required.
| Type of research activity you will be conducting | Honorary research contract necessary? | Criminal record check necessary? | Occupational Health clearance necessary? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct contact with patients/service users and providing prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness (not children or vulnerable adults) | Yes | Yes, enhanced | Yes |
| Direct contact with children or vulnerable adults and providing prevention, diagnosis or treatment | Yes | Yes, enhanced | Yes |
| Direct contact with patients/service users but not providing prevention, diagnosis or treatment (eg observer) | No | Yes, enhanced | Yes |
| Indirect contact with patients/service users and providing prevention, diagnosis or treatment (eg some types of telephone interviews) | Yes | Yes, enhanced | No |
| Indirect contact with patients/service users but not providing prevention, diagnosis or treatment (eg some telephone interviews, postal questionnaires) | No | No | No |
| Access to identifiable patient data, tissues or organs with likely impact on prevention, diagnosis or treatment | Yes | No | No |
| Access to identifiable patient data tissues or organs with no likely impact on prevention, diagnosis or treatment | No | No | No |
| Access to anonymised patient data, tissues or organs only (including by research staff analysing data) | No | No | No |
| Working on NHS premises (eg laboratory) only | No | No | In some situations |
| Direct contact with staff (eg interviews) | No | No | No |
| Access to identifiable staff data | No | No | No |
| Access to anonymised staff data only | No | No | No |
Notes
- ID badges should be issued by each NHS organisation where researchers will have face-to-face contact with patients or staff.
- Clinicians must be fully registered with an appropriate professional body and be a member of a recognised medical defence organisation which provides them with appropriate professional indemnity for the research activity.
