For us to provide any data through the MRIS, your study must have ethical approval. This confirms either that your study is not against the public interest, or that the release of information is allowed by legislation.

Public interest approval is given by an ethics committee such as the National Research Ethics Service. Legislative cover may be provided by acts such as Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006, and permission for this is also approved by the ethics committee.

Applying for Ethical Approval

You will need approval from the National Research Ethics Service for studies involving the use of NHS data, including:

• patient names, date of birth, etc
• NHS numbers
• cancer registrations
• health authority information

Formal Ethical Approval is not required for:

• audit studies of a consultant's own patients
• research studies that do not use NHS data, e.g. data extracts from registration databases.

However, the NHS Research Ethics Committee's opinion on whether the study is ethical is still very helpful and may speed up the application process.

Any study requesting cancer information must have a medically qualified person, fully registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) on the project team who agrees to take clinical responsibility for the cancer registration and NHS data supplied. This requirement is in order to ensure clinical accountability.

How to apply

It is helpful to obtain ethical approval before submitting your application form.

To apply for ethical approval please visit the NHS Research Ethics Committee website and follow instructions.