The Research Ethics Committee exist to safeguard the rights, safety, dignity and wellbeing of research participants.
The committees are entirely independent of research sponsors (the organisations responsible for the management and conduct of the research), funders and the researchers themselves.
HRA Approval brings together the assessment of governance and legal compliance, undertaken by dedicated HRA staff, with the independent ethical opinion by a Research Ethics Committee (REC) so that you only need to submit one application.
It applies where the NHS organisation has a duty of care to participants, either as patients/service users or NHS staff/volunteers.