Financial and educational support from pharmaceutical companies can prove attractive in situations where financial and management resources are constrained. However such support may distort the prioritisation, planning and delivery of high quality, needs based education.

The Educational Consortium Sponsorship Policy document has been designed for guidance of bodies represented at the Educational Consortium at The Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency. It takes into account the NHS Code of Conduct.

The policy deals with three types of Commercial Sponsorship:

a) Gifts and Hospitality (gifts of minimal value, lunch)

b) Sponsorship (for conferences, courses less than £500)

c) Commercial Partnership (or ventures of a value greater than £500)

Gifts and hospitality may be accepted provided that their value does not exceed the thresholds defined in the policy, that they are not out of keeping with the purpose of the event and that they are not offered to inappropriate individuals.

Sponsorship provided by a third party for an educational event should only be accepted after a Terms of Sponsorship agreement (Appendix 1) has been completed and appropriate approval has been secured in advance. Reference to such sponsorship should be made in the Consortium’s hospitality register and on any material produced for the sponsored event.

Commercial Partnership
Significant initiatives or projects (which may involve recruitment of staff or purchasing of equipment) and have a value in excess of £500 should not be agreed unless there has been:

• Formal assessment of costs and benefits (including the impact of clinical interventions such as changes to prescribed medicines)
• Approval by Consortium
• Written commercial partnership agreement (Appendix 2), which has a breakout clause. (A checklist to assist in this process is included as Appendices 3 and 4)
• Entry in the hospitality and sponsorship register