UK agency to combat research misconduct
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《英国医生杂志》
An agency to combat biomedical research misconduct in the United Kingdom is scheduled to start work in October, initially for three years, it was announced last week.
Plans for the new body, known as the UK Panel for Health and Biomedical Research Integrity, were unveiled at the annual meeting of the Committee on Publication Ethics by John Pritchard, senior planning and policy adviser at Sheffield Hallam University.
Universities UK, an organisation that promotes the work of UK universities, has taken overall responsibility for developing the plans, with the help of Michael Farthing, former chairman of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
The committee has been seeking the establishment of an agency since 1998 ( BMJ 1998;316: 1695). Several European countries and the United States already have comparable bodies.
Mr Pritchard said that a survey of universities last year by Universities UK found that four out of 10 had dealt with an allegation of research misconduct in the previous five years. Almost half the cases were in health and biomedical research.
Dr Peter Wilmshurst said that many of those consulted by the committee had "a stake in keeping research fraud under cover"
Credit: ROYAL SHREWSBURY HOSPITAL
The promotion of models of good practice and the prevention of misconduct would be key features of the panel, said Mr Pritchard. Chief among its priorities would be to draw up a set of national guidelines, incorporating the best elements of existing policies.
He emphasised that the primary responsibility for investigating allegations of misconduct must still lie with university and NHS employers but that they could draw on expert advisers, a register of whom the panel would establish shortly.
The Department of Health and the Higher Education Funding Council for England were the likely sources of primary funding, said Mr Pritchard. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has also expressed interest.
Peter Wilmshurst, consultant cardiologist at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and someone who has exposed many cases of misconduct, was worried about the range of stakeholders with whom the panel had been consulting so far.
"Your stakeholders have a stake in keeping research fraud under cover," he said. He called for public representatives and other health interests to be included.(Caroline White)
Plans for the new body, known as the UK Panel for Health and Biomedical Research Integrity, were unveiled at the annual meeting of the Committee on Publication Ethics by John Pritchard, senior planning and policy adviser at Sheffield Hallam University.
Universities UK, an organisation that promotes the work of UK universities, has taken overall responsibility for developing the plans, with the help of Michael Farthing, former chairman of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
The committee has been seeking the establishment of an agency since 1998 ( BMJ 1998;316: 1695). Several European countries and the United States already have comparable bodies.
Mr Pritchard said that a survey of universities last year by Universities UK found that four out of 10 had dealt with an allegation of research misconduct in the previous five years. Almost half the cases were in health and biomedical research.
Dr Peter Wilmshurst said that many of those consulted by the committee had "a stake in keeping research fraud under cover"
Credit: ROYAL SHREWSBURY HOSPITAL
The promotion of models of good practice and the prevention of misconduct would be key features of the panel, said Mr Pritchard. Chief among its priorities would be to draw up a set of national guidelines, incorporating the best elements of existing policies.
He emphasised that the primary responsibility for investigating allegations of misconduct must still lie with university and NHS employers but that they could draw on expert advisers, a register of whom the panel would establish shortly.
The Department of Health and the Higher Education Funding Council for England were the likely sources of primary funding, said Mr Pritchard. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has also expressed interest.
Peter Wilmshurst, consultant cardiologist at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and someone who has exposed many cases of misconduct, was worried about the range of stakeholders with whom the panel had been consulting so far.
"Your stakeholders have a stake in keeping research fraud under cover," he said. He called for public representatives and other health interests to be included.(Caroline White)