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Good Clinical Practice (GCP) is the international ethical, scientific and practical standard to which all clinical research is conducted. It is important that everyone involved in research is trained or appropriately experienced to perform the specific tasks they are being asked to undertake. GCP training is a requirement set out in the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research developed by the Health Research Authority for researchers conducting clinical trials of investigational medicinal products (CTIMPs).  Different types of research may require different training, and some researchers are already well trained and competent in their area of expertise. Some researchers doing other types of clinical trials may also benefit from undertaking GCP training but other training may be more relevant. The National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) offers range of Good Clinical Practice (GCP) courses and training aids for the clinical research delivery workforce.

How work gets done in complex healthcare systems is ethically important. When healthcare professionals and other staff are pressured to improvise, fix structural problems, or comply with competing policies, the uncertainty and distress they experience have potential consequences for patients, families, colleagues, and the system itself. This book presents a new theory of healthcare ethics that is grounded in the nature of healthcare work and how it is shaped by the ever-changing conditions of complex systems, in particular, problems of safety and harm. By exploring workarounds and other improvised practices in complex healthcare systems that are difficult for professionals to talk about openly, yet have unclear effects, including their value or risk to patients, this book offers a realistic look at our changing healthcare system and how we can improve the way we manage moral problems arising in the care of the sick. Berlinger argues that healthcare ethics in complex and changing healthcare systems should reflect the moral complexity of healthcare work, analyse common ethical challenges with reference to behaviours and pressures driven by the system itself and support opportunities for healthcare professionals and staff at all levels to reflect on the problems they face and to take part in social change. The book's chapters include frameworks for looking at ethical challenges in healthcare as problems of safety and harm with consequences for patients. Are Workarounds Ethical? is designed to support clinician education in medicine, nursing, and interdisciplinary contexts and recommend methods for integrating ethics, safety, and justice in practice.

This book explores patient safety themes in developed, developing and transitioning countries. A foundation premise is the concept of ‘reverse innovation’ as mutual learning from the chapters challenges traditional assumptions about the construction and location of knowledge. hub members can receive a 20% discount. Please email: feedback@pslhub.org to request the discount code.

A blog from hub topic lead Hugh Wilkins on the recent messages from NHS England and NHS Improvement leaders reminding everyone, including those at board level, of the duty and right of staff to speak up about anything which gets in the way of patient care and their own wellbeing. Hugh highlights the real risk of reprisals against some staff who have raised concerns in the public interest, and points out that much needs to change before NHS staff can be sure that it is safe for them to speak up.

The Royal College of Physicians has published ethical guidance for frontline staff dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, supported by more than a dozen other health organisations. Members of the RCP’s Committee on Ethical Issues in Medicine, chaired by Dr Alexis Paton, developed the guidance, which is supported by nine other Royal Colleges and five medical faculties. It takes into consideration recent joint statements from the General Medical Council (GMC), the NHS and the UK’s four Chief Medical Officers. The guidance reminds frontline staff that while so much has changed during the pandemic, they still need to ensure that care is provided in a fair and equitable way.

Is a focus on wellbeing a ‘nice thing to do’ in organisations, or are there more fundamental arguments? In this article in Hindsight, Suzanne Shale outlines ethical arguments for making wellbeing a priority.