How can NHS staff publish open access?

In order to publish open access in a journal, staff will need to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC), otherwise known as the 'Gold' route. There is not a central NHS pot for APC charges, though it's possible that individuals may be able to claim for APCs from study leave budgets or project grants.

The more common route to securing APC funding is as part of a research bid to bodies like the Wellcome or NIHR. However, recipients of these grants represent only part of the knowledge output of the NHS and many NHS authors do struggle to pay APCs.

As things stand, most contracts between the NHS and publishers are traditional “read” subscriptions. All our national core content contracts fit this model. There are a few exceptions, for example where local NHS libraries subscribe to platforms like BMJ Case Reports which are designed to channel articles through to publication.