Department of Research

A health professional looking down a microscopeSir Charles Gairdner and Osborne Park Health Care Group (SCGOPHCG) has a national and international reputation for ground breaking research and is the largest public sector research hospital in Western Australia.

We are home to highly acclaimed researchers in a number of fields and undertake research from laboratory-based discovery science through to clinical trials. There are over 500 active research studies on the site.

The SCGOPHCG Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) is certified by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to provide ethical approval for research nationally, one of three in WA and the only one within the North Metropolitan Health Service.

SCGOPHCG HREC is certified to review the following research categories:

  • Clinical trials of drugs and devices Phases I - IV
  • Clinical interventional research other than clinical trials
  • Population health and/or public health; and,
  • Qualitative research

Due to the variety and volume of research submitted at this site, the HREC delegates review of the scientific merit and integrity to two subcommittees: The Clinical Drugs Trial Committee (CDTC) and the Scientific Review Subcommittee (SRS). The CDTC reviews all research involving the administration of a drug and the SRS reviews all other non-drug research.

The HREC and its subcommittees meet eleven times a year with meetings occurring between February and December.

All research within WA Health needs to be submitted via the Research Governance Service (RGS) (external site).

All research studies undertaken at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Osborne Park Hospital must undergo a research governance review (or site specific assessment (SSA)) before the study can commence.

Research Governance is a framework through which institutions are accountable for the research they allow to be conducted under their auspices. The process involves consideration of the ethical, legal, professional, financial, insurance and intellectual property issues for each research project.

The governance process is separate to ethical and scientific review and can be conducted in parallel to the ethics approval process. That is, it is not necessary to wait for the ethics outcome before preparing and submitting a governance application.

For more information on research governance please visit the Research Governance Service (RGS) (external link).

Once a research project has received ethics approval and site authorisation, investigators must adhere to a number of reporting requirements. This includes submitting the following to the SCGOPHCG Research and Governance Office:

  • annual and final reports
  • amendments (any changes to project documentation or conduct)
  • requests for an extension of approval
  • requests to add new sites or personnel
  • serious and unexpected adverse events that occur at the local site.

All monitoring forms are the same for ethics and governance and are available from RGS (external link). 

The goal of the Clinical Trial Liaison Officer is to contribute to reduced start-up times for clinical trials. To achieve this, the Clinical Trials Liaison Officer is available to provide assistance to researchers with submissions, with contracts and agreements, and in liaising with sponsors.

If you have clinical trials underway, or are looking to commence a clinical trial, or would simply like to make contact to discuss Clinical Trials Research, you can contact the Clinical Trials Liaison Officer through NMHS.CTLO@health.wa.gov.au.

The SCGOPHCG Statistical Consultation Service is available to all researchers employed at SCGH or OPH and who are conducting research at either of these sites.

Investigators may initially access up to 10 hours of free statistical consultation time, after which justification for ongoing support will need to be provided. Access to this service will be prioritised on the basis of the expected output (e.g. manuscript > grant > abstract ).

Where there is a reasonable contribution to any publication through analysis and interpretation of data, there is an expectation of inclusion in the authorship of the paper, as per NHMRC guidelines.

To apply for access please complete the SCGOPHCG Statistical Consultation form (Word) and forward to scgh.research@health.wa.gov.au

Note: these services are provided at the discretion of the SCGOPHCG Department of Research.

Each year SCGOPHCG in collaboration with the Charlies Foundation for Research offer funding of up to $30,000 for short-term research projects to be conducted in the SCGOPHCG and completed within financial year.

For more information and subscribe to our mailing list at scgh.research@health.wa.gov.au. Or alternatively visit Charlies Foundation for Research (external site).

Last Updated: 03/08/2020