FAQs
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
AS OUR PATIENT
Contact us to volunteer
If you are thinking about volunteering for a clinical trial, you probably have lots of questions. We’ve answered the most frequently asked questions on this page, but please do contact the team if there’s anything else you would like to know before deciding to apply.
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1 – Do you need to be fit and healthy to take part in a clinical trial? You do need to be in relatively good health as we need to ensure your wellbeing throughout the study, but depending on the requirements of the trial and the treatment being looked at, sometimes we need volunteers who already have a particular illness or condition such as asthma or diabetes.
3 – Do you pay travel expenses? Yes, we can contribute towards your travel and transport costs.
5 – How many trials can I do? You can only volunteer to be part of one trial at a time, but once it has finished you can volunteer for other trials. We will ensure there is a big enough gap in between your trials so there is no crossover effect from the previous study.
7 – What about side effects? There is always a risk of side effects with any drug you take – even common medicines like ibuprofen and paracetamol can affect people in different ways. We run safety checks throughout a study to monitor our volunteers' baseline status (what is normal for you) to ensure any side effects are picked up quickly.
9 – Will I need to give blood samples? For most of our trials, we will need to take blood samples, as this tells us how long a treatment stays in your system and if it is affecting the workings of vital organs.
11 A – What are the phases of a clinical trial? There are five main phases of a clinical trial. We specialise in Phases II and III. Phase 0 – pre-clinical phase. These are the first human studies, where a small dose is tested on a very small number of volunteer patients. This phase determines the safety of a drug.
11 C – What are the phases of a clinical trial? The last is Phase IV – by now the new treatment has demonstrated its effectiveness and has been licensed, so this trial phase focuses on confirmation of how well the treatment works and is an ongoing safety review.
2 – Do you get paid for a clinical trial? Often a sponsor (the company who makes the treatment we are trialling) will provide financial compensation for people joining the study. The amount of compensation varies depending on the condition being studied and how difficult it will be to find patients who fit the bill!
4 – How long does a trial last? The length of our trials varies – some can be for a few weeks or months, while others can be for years. It depends on the nature of the study. We’ll tell you from the outset how long your trial is expected to last.
6 – Are clinical trials safe? Clinical trials are very safe and highly regulated by the authorities. We specialise in Phase II and III trials, which means that the treatments we study have already passed numerous safety and effectiveness tests.
8 – Will I need to stay at your practice centre during my trial? You will need to visit us at the practice centre in Cheshire during your trial and stay until all the tests and checks are completed – generally, these don’t take more than a few hours at the very most, so we don’t need you to stay overnight.
10 – What happens to the data collected? The data we collect is subject to general data protection regulations, so your details are kept safe and are not shared with anyone but the client whose treatment you are trialling.
11 B – What are the phases of a clinical trial? Phase II – this phase continues to test the safety of a treatment, and establishes how effective it is, including ongoing tests to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the treatment, as well as comparing the new treatment with established treatments.
12 – What if I want to leave a clinical trial? The clinical trials process is 100% voluntary, so you are free to leave whenever you want – regardless of whether the trial has started or not. If you do leave a trial, you do still need to come to see us for baseline safety checks, which ensure you are not experiencing any unwanted effects from the trial.