Update on Substantial Amendments

Since the establishment of the NREC-CTs, the number of substantial amendments submitted for ethics review has far surpassed the forecasted volume and what could feasibly be assessed by two voluntary committees under their current structure working at capacity. This has created a backlog in the system and significant delays in the review of complex substantial amendments.

To alleviate this problem, the National Office in conjunction with the NREC-CT Chairs and the Department of Health are establishing a dedicated subcommittee to tackle the backlog over an 8-week period.

We are aware that this dedicated subcommittee will work to alleviate substantial amendments currently in the queue for review.  While this subcommittee will target substantial amendments currently in the queue for review, the National Office, the NREC-CT Chairs and the Department of Health are working on a long-term solution to facilitate timely review of future substantial amendment applications.

Please see below for the draft review schedule for the project. Please note that this schedule may be subject to change.

We thank the research community for their patience related to this issue.

Week 5: Reviewed Friday 27^th May 

 Week 6: Reviewed Friday 3^rd June