Press Release: NHS ENGLAND EXTEND BIOMED CENTRAL MEMBERSHIP TO 2008

["Grace Baynes" <Grace@biomedcentral.com>]

** Apologies for cross-posting**

Press Release:  Thursday 10 November

NHS ENGLAND EXTEND BIOMED CENTRAL MEMBERSHIP TO 2008

BioMed Central is pleased to announce that NHS England have renewed their
BioMed Central membership agreement until March 2008. Under the renewed
membership agreement all 1.4 million NHS England staff can continue to
publish their work in BioMed Central's growing number of open access
journals without incurring a direct article processing charge.  All the
research content in BioMed Central's journals is freely available online
immediately on publication.

News of the NHS England renewal comes at a key time for open access in the
UK. In a study "How accessible is NHS-funded research to the general
public and to the NHS's own researchers?" it was found that less than 30%
of NHS-funded resulting research articles are accessible in full text to
the general public and only 40% are immediately accessible to NHS staff at
the hospital studied.1 In the House of Commons Science & Technology Select
Committee's report 'Scientific Publications: Free for all2', the Committee
concludes that changes in scientific publishing are "necessary as a matter
of urgency" and everyone should have free, open access to UK research
findings. They urge the UK Government and funding organisations to "act as
a proponent for change" and "lead by example". NHS England's decision, to
fund open access publication in BioMed Central's journals for all NHS
England staff for a further two years, provides critical support for the
growth of open access in the UK.

NHS England first signed up for BioMed Central membership in April 2003,
and since then there has been a huge increase in support and usage from
researchers in NHS England. Submissions to BioMed Central's journals by
NHS staff so far in 2005 are almost six times the number submitted in
2003. Between 2004 and 2005 (to date), publication in BioMed Central's
journals by NHS staff increased by 51%. Downloads of BioMed Central
journal articles by the NHS England community have increased five-fold in
the same time period. These results demonstrate that the NHS England
membership has had a huge impact on the awareness of open access
publishing in this short time period.

Founded in 1948, the National Health Service is the largest health
organisation in Europe. As well as providing free healthcare for the
British public, the NHS also has a commitment to invest in developing
future treatments and expanding medical knowledge.  Ben Toth, Programme
Director, National Library for Health, explains why NHS England made the
decision to renew:

"The principal and practice of open access is good for the 1.4 million
staff and 56 million customers of the NHS in England. It promotes the full
disclosure of the results of clinical trials and promotes the free flow of
clinical research. It also provides excellent value for money."

References:

(1) How accessible is NHS-funded research to the general public and to the
NHS's own researchers?, Matthew Cockerill, February 2004 Available at:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/openaccess/inquiry/refersubmission.PDF

(2) House of Commons Science & Technology Select Committee's report
'Scientific Publications: Free for all, July 2004 Available at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmsctech/399/399.pdf

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:

Grace Baynes, BioMed Central
Tel: +44 (0)20 7631 9988
E-mail: press@biomedcentral.com

About BioMed Central

BioMed Central is an independent online publishing house committed to
providing open access to peer-reviewed research. This commitment is based
on the view that immediate free access to research and the ability to
freely archive and reuse published information is essential to the rapid
and efficient communication of science.

Grace Baynes
Marketing Communications Manager
BioMed Central
http://www.biomedcentral.com/