What happens next?

If you register with us, our friendly recruitment team will call you to discuss the clinical trials currently available. They’ll ask you questions to check whether you’re suitable for a trial, so we don’t waste your time. If you’re interested and suitable, the team will give you an appointment for a ‘screening’ visit. They’ll tell you beforehand whether you’ll be screened for a place on a medical trial, or as a reserve in case someone drops out.

During your screening, you’ll have an interview with a doctor, who’ll explain the medical aspects of the trial in greater detail.

Telephone check

If you’re interested in taking part in a trial, we can give you information over the phone or by email. We’ll ask you for your age, gender, height and weight, and questions about your smoking habits and general health, to see whether you are suitable. If so, we’ll invite you in for screening.

Screening

If you’re still interested in taking part, we’ll give you a health questionnaire to fill in. Next, one of our doctors will answer your questions about the study. If you’re satisfied you know enough about the study, and you decide you want to take part, we’ll ask you to sign a ‘consent form’. We’ll give you a copy to take away. We’ll screen you after you’ve signed the consent form. It usually takes about two hours. We will:

Measure your height and weight;
Give you a medical examination, including your blood pressure and pulse rate;
Do an ECG (a painless test that records the rhythm of the heart);
Take samples of your blood and urine to check you’re healthy;
Test you for drugs of abuse, such as cannabis and cocaine, because they might react badly with the new medicine and harm you;
Do a pregnancy test, if you’re a woman;
test your blood for hepatitis and HIV (AIDS) viruses (we’ll counsel you about these tests before you have them, and explain what would happen if one should be positive);
Ask you what foods you won’t eat when you stay on the ward;
Ask for a copy of your passport or National Insurance number (if you have one), as proof of your identity; and
Give you an appointment card with all the study dates and times.

Dos and don'ts before screening

You’re more likely to pass your screening if you:

Are not too obese and not too thin.
Follow a well-regulated lifestyle.
Get plenty of sleep and rest.
Don’t drink too much alcohol, and don’t smoke.

You’re more likely to fail your screening if you:

Eat excessively, or have an unbalanced diet.
Stay up late and don’t get enough sleep.
Exercise hard, such as running, excessive physical work and massage, before screening.

You’ll fail your screening if you:

Take illegal drugs, or abuse prescription drugs.

After your screening

Confirmation

About three or four days after your screening visit, you should ring us on 0208 963 4502 or 0800 783 8792 (Free phone) to find out if all your tests are normal. We’ll tell you whether you have passed or failed your screening. If you fail, it will be for one of the following reasons.

Medical

If something abnormal shows up in your results, one of our doctors will talk to you. They’ll write you a referral letter to your GP, who’ll ensure you receive appropriate medical treatment.

Non-medical

It may be that one of your results excludes you from taking part in the trial, but from a medical point of view you are healthy. For example, your blood pressure may be a little lower than the clinical trial’s criteria, or your body weight might be too low for the trial.

Drops out, or is excluded for medical reasons. When all the volunteers have been dosed with the trial medication – usually the morning after admission – the un-needed reserves are sent home, and are paid according to the hours spent here. As reserves have already passed the screening tests, we’re more likely to offer them a definite place in future groups or in future trials.

Volunteers usually stay on the ward for a few days, but it can sometimes be for a few weeks, depending on the trial. However, even after admission, you’ll have the right to withdraw at any time. You don’t have to give your reason for withdrawing, if you don’t want to.

Admission

Volunteers are usually admitted to our wards the night before the trial starts. All those recruited, including reserves; bring everything required for the duration of the trial.

Bring with you to admission

Your copy of the information leaflet and consent form, in case you need to remind yourself about the details of your study.
Your appointment card.
Things to do, such as books, own laptop, and an iPod, and iPad.
Changes of clothing, such as underwear, shorts and T-shirts.
Toiletries and a towel to wash and shower.
Earplugs, because sometimes it’s noisy at night and you can’t sleep.
Your mobile phone if you wish to.

Don't bring with you to admission

When you arrive for admission

We’ll show you to your bed, and then put a card at the top with your name, subject number and study number (ID).
The wards are open plan, just like a hospital, but there’s a curtain around each bed if you need privacy.
We’ll give you a wristband, or a badge to hang around your neck, with your ID on it. We check your ID against our records when we give you your study medicine or take samples.
We’ll show you where to find the toilets and showers, where to make tea and coffee, and where the leisure facilities are.
All volunteers, including reserves, usually have a breathalyser test, urine tests for pregnancy (females only), a test for drugs of abuse, and measurement of blood pressure

Restrictions during the trial

Depending on the clinical trial, these may vary. You might not be allowed some of the following things:

Cigarettes or alcohol
Products containing caffeine (coffee, tea, Coke, chocolate, cocoa, energy drinks like Red Bull)
Poppy Seed (including breads and bagels containing poppy seeds)
Grapefruit and foods that contain grapefruit (grapefruit juice, alcoholic drinks containing grapefruit, jams, yoghurts etc.)
Medicines and products for medicinal use. NB: sometimes dry eye medicines and the contraceptive pill are permitted
General medicines (cold medicine, eye medicine, painkillers, mouthwash, ointments etc.)
Products for medicinal use (medicinal toothpastes, shampoos, lip balms, throat lozenges, vitamins, supplements, herb teas etc.)

You mustn’t exercise intensively, such as using exercise equipment or carrying a heavy load

Facilities

When there aren’t trial procedures, you can chat with other subjects, watch DVDs, play games or read books! Our facility has:

Big recreation and dining area.
Widescreen TVs with satellite channels (Sky TV).
Games consoles.
Video recorder and videos.
DVD player and DVDs.
Computers with free wireless internet access.
Board games, such as Monopoly and chess.
Pool tables.
Secure storage for your belongings.
Air-conditioning throughout the wards.

General information

Your meals and accommodation are free, and we’ll do your laundry for free if you’re in a long study. You get breakfast, lunch and dinner. But sometimes we’ll have to give them to you late.
Your meals will be prepared daily from fresh food in modern kitchens by our own chefs.
You can unwind, and forget your cares and responsibilities.
We don’t allow visitors, but you’ll meet lots of new people.
We don’t allow you out of the building during your study. If it lasts for more than a few days, we’ll usually take you outside for short walks.
You must follow our house rules. We may fine you if you don’t. The rules keep the place running smoothly.
Be prepared for some days to be very hectic, particularly days when we give you the study medicine.
We might take lots of blood samples on some days (called ‘PK’ days). We need the samples to measure how much of the medicine gets into your blood and how quickly your body gets rid of it.
Also, we may do several ECGs (painless tests that records the rhythm of the heart), and measure your blood pressure and pulse many times during the day. We do this to check that the medicine’s safe.
In some studies, we may do other types of test to make sure the medicine’s safe, or to measure its effects.
For some studies, it’s vital that you collect all your urine. The information leaflet tells you if this applies to your study. If you do have to collect all your urine, you:
Won’t have free access to the toilets – the doors are locked, and you must ask one of the nurses or technicians to unlock one.
Must use a bottle each time you pass urine.

Follow up visits and payment

We’ll check your health after you’ve finished your study. In some studies, there are several follow-up visits.
If necessary, we’ll call you back after your visit to give you another health check, until we’re satisfied all is well.

About 14 days after we get the results of your final tests, we’ll pay you by electronic transfer (international or domestic) into your bank account, or cheque, for taking part in the study.

After you finish

After you’ve finished a study, for your own safety, you mustn’t take part in another one anywhere for at least three months. We keep a database (called TOPS) that tells other units and us when you take part in studies. At screening, we enter your National Insurance number (if you have one) or your passport number and country of origin. If you go on to take part in a study, we also enter the date of your last dose of medicine.
After the three months are up, you can call us to find out if there are any new studies that might suit you.

What volunteers tell us

Most volunteers enjoy their time on the ward and say they would take part in another study. Some people have difficulty sleeping here. It can be a bit noisy on the ward at night, so bring earplugs with you as they might help. Otherwise, you can catch up on sleep during afternoons when there’s not much going on. Read what our volunteers say about their experience at Hammersmith Medicines Research trials.

We’re arguably London’s leading research unit doing clinical trials with healthy volunteers

We’ve done more than 850 medical trials, with an exceptional record for safety and putting our volunteers first.

“Very polite informative staff. HMR really sets the standard from medical right through to the end”