New accreditation for the Research Ethics Committee of St Mary’s Hospital Center

The Research Ethics Committee of SMHC will now be able to approve projects  involving minors and incompetent adults

The Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux (MSSS) has recognized the outstanding quality of the Research Ethics Committee (REC) of St Mary’s Hospital Center (SMHC) by granting it the ability to review, approve, and monitor projects involving minors and incompetent adults. This new accreditation further fortifies the University-affiliated Hospital Centre status of the hospital, as well as boosts some new research projects.

“We are extremely proud of this accreditation: it is proof of the exceptional quality and efficiency of our research review process,” explains Dr Arvind K. Joshi, DG and CEO, SMHC. “ The caliber and organization of the REC are the results of many years of experience: it is this long-standing expertise that has been recognized today by the MSSS.”

The REC of SMHC reviews, approves, and monitors the various research projects that are implemented in the hospital. Until now it could only approve projects involving competent adults, but with this new accreditation, it will be able to approve a much larger set of projects involving minors and incompetent adults.

“This new accreditation allows us to review internally some projects that had to be reviewed externally before, including research projects on delirium in older patients,” explains Dr. Michael Bonnycastle, Physician in Chief, Department of Medicine, SMHC and chair of the SMHC Research Ethics Committee. “Beyond the recognition, which makes us very proud, this also represents an important gain in time and efficacy for our research teams.”

St. Mary’s Hospital Center (SMHC) is a university affiliated community hospital which serves a multicultural population.  It seeks to provide the highest level of safe patient and family focused care and patient-centric research. St. Mary’s is an integral part of the Réseau universitaire intégré de santé (RUIS) McGill.