St James’s Hospital/TUH Joint Research Ethics Committee

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Contact Details: Dr. Sadhbh O’Neill Scanlon (Sadhbh.oneill@tuh.ie) directly and cc the ResearchEthics@tuh.ie

The Chair of the JREC is Prof Anne-Marie Tobin. Please contact Dr. Sadhbh O’Neill Scanlon and queries will be forwarded to Prof Tobin.

PURPOSE OF THE JREC

- The St. James’ Hospital (SJH) / Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) Joint Research Ethics Committee (REC) provides ethical review of research studies in which patients, staff and sometimes healthy volunteers are either:

  • Direct participants 
  • Their medical records medical data are accessed and collected
  • Their biological samples are used 

- The aim of the SJH/TUH JREC is to ensure the safety of our participants at all times

HOW THE SJH/TUH JREC FUNCTIONS

  • The SJH/TUH jREC follows the Operational Procedures for RECs Guidance issued by the Irish Council for Bioethics (2004) (available at: Irish Council for Bioethics)
  • The full SJH/TUH JREC meets nine times each year and reviews between 6 and 10 applications at each meeting.
  • Researchers must submit all research studies to the SJH/TUH JREC for review via the online Ethics Review Manager - Infonetica
  • For studies reviewed at a committee meeting, Minutes are written following the meeting and approved by the Chair. Once approved a letter with reviewer comments will be issued to the applicant via Infonetica
  • For Studies reviewed by a Chairman’s Action, the Head of Research will review the submission and liaise directly with the Applicant via Infonetica until ready for approval. The study will then be sent to the Chair for approval and a letter issued once approved.

    Figure 1 below illustrates the process of review for a new study submitted for initial review
    Figure 2  illustrates the process of review for all other types of submissions, i.e. amendments, response to comments, resubmissions, reports

    Figure 1: Initial review of new study submissions to the SJH/TUH JREC

    Figure 2: Review of all resubmissions to the SJH/TUH JREC – Response to comments, Amendments, reports

Decisions:

The full SJH/TUH JREC issues one of the following decisions in relation to a valid application:

  1. The study is APPROVED (Final Opinion): The applicant may conduct the research as outlined in the application form submitted to the SJH/TUH JREC incorporating any requirements by the SJH/TUH JREC.
  2. The study is APPROVED pending CLARIFICATIONS: The study can begin once clarifications are submitted to the SJH/TUH JREC via the correspondence section of Infonetica.
  3. The study is PROVISIONALLY APPROVED: The study is approved subject to recommended revisions to the application and/or responses to questions posed. The applicant must resubmit any revisions and/or responses to the SJH/TUH JREC before receiving final approval for the study. No research may be conducted prior to receiving final approval.
  4. Further Information required: The SJH/TUH REC requires further information from the applicant and/or referee (expert opinion) before a decision can be reached.
  5. The study is DECLINED: The applicant is given a full explanation of the REC’s decision with or without an invitation to resubmit a substantially altered proposal for reconsideration.

The Chairman’s Action issues the following decisions in relation to a valid application:

  1. The Head of Research liaises directly with the applicant requesting additional information.
  2. Once all queries are addressed and the application is ready to be approved the Head of Research will send the application to the Chair for Chairman’s Approval via Infonetica. Subsequently an approval letter will be issued via Infonetica.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Health Research Consent Declaration Committee (HRCDC):

Researchers conducting studies involving patients who lack capacity to give their own informed consent or researchers who do not plan on seeking explicit consent from the patient must apply to the HRCDC for a consent declaration for the processing of the patients data. Provisional SJH/TUH JREC approval must be in place before applying to the HRCDC. This type of study will require a full SJH/TUH JREC review and is not eligible for a Chairman’s Action.

Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA):

Research involving Investigational Medicinal Products or Devices may require approval from the HPRA.  Please consult with the HPRA regarding your study before applying to the JREC.

Committee Meeting Dates 2026 and 2027:

  • September 16th 2026
  • October 21st 2026
  • November 18th 2026
  • January 20th 2027
  • February 24th 2027
  • Mar 31st 2027
  • April 21st 2027
  • May 19th 2027
  • June 16th 2027
  • September 15th 2027
  • October 20th 2027
  • November 17th 2027

All submissions made to the JREC are reviewed and assigned to the next available meeting. It is not possible to submit for a particular meeting.

90% of submissions are approved via a Chairman’s Action and 10% via a full JREC Meeting. The Head of Research determines eligibility for a Chairman’s Action.

TYPES OF STUDIES THE SJH/TUH JREC REVIEW

Clinical Audit:

Clinical audit is the systematic review and evaluation of current practice against standards with a view to improving clinical care for service users

Quality Improvement Initiatives:

Improving quality means making healthcare safe, effective, patient – centred, timely, efficient and equitable.
Quality Improvement (QI) provides a structured approach to enhancing how care is delivered. Because healthcare is made up of thousands of interlinked processes, QI involves defining these processes, measuring and analysing, them, implementing improvements and ensuing those improvements are maintained.

Service Evaluation:

An internal evaluation of a service provided to a select set of patients for a given period of time in order to identify issues/good practice and implement appropriate changes if necessary.

** The JREC will not review these types of studies ethically but the JREC will issue a letter stating the type of study being conducted**

- Registration is made via the Registration Form

Contact Details: Ms Sinead Palmer, Quality & Change Manager – Sinead.Palmer@tuh.ie, 01-414 2855