Patients, participants and healthy volunteers
Before any new drug, treatment or medical device can be utilised by a medical professional, it has to undergo rigorous testing to ensure it is safe and actually works to prevent or cure the disease or alleviate symptoms.
You may be able to take part in a trial if:
- A patient - if you are currently being treated by clinical teams at our hospitals or have signed up to the Consent4Consent (C4C) database.
- A participant - you have been identified as having a condition or criteria that are required for a specific trial.
- A healthy volunteer - you have signed up for the Consent4Consent database.
Sign up for the Consent4Consent database, our in-house register that helps us identify volunteers for a specific study.
You may need to bring photographic ID and proof of your National Insurance number, eg tax letter, payslip, NI card, depending on the clinical trial or research study.
Upon enquiry, we will send you a patient information leaflet which is an in-depth summary of the trial you want to take part in. Skilled clinical staff can answer any queries you may have.
If you are still interested, a member of the recruitment team will call you to complete a quick initial eligibility check. This is processed to determine your eligibility and if successful you will be contacted with screening appointment dates. Don’t forget, you can change your mind and stop the trial at any time.
You will need to bring photographic ID and proof of your National Insurance number, eg tax letter, payslip, NI card.
Some trials may have specific requirements such as avoiding certain foods or cutting out alcohol for some days. You will be provided with all this information beforehand.
When you arrive for your screening visit, you will be given a consent form to sign which demonstrates that you have read the patient information leaflet and consent to participating in the trial.
You will then undergo a thorough health check which generally takes a couple of hours. You may be reimbursed for your time and travel expenses.
Your free health check or screening is very thorough. The doctor will go over your medical history and then give you a physical examination. Your height, weight, blood pressure and heart rate will be recorded. The nurses will test your heart function using an ECG machine, as well as taking blood and urine samples. For safety purposes, we may contact your doctor to verify your past medical history.
We will contact you after your screening visit to let you know whether you’re eligible for the trial.
Each study has specific criteria and even if you meet most of them, something as simple as a recent flu jab can affect a clinical trial.
If you are accepted onto a trial, you will be informed of the next steps, any other precautions or changes you must adhere to and further details of the research taking place.
You can change your mind and stop the trial at any time.
Patient & Public Involvement (PPI)
Active public involvement in research is different from simply taking part in research.
Taking part in PPI could mean:
- Helping the researcher to identify and ask the right question
- Making sure that the research is relevant to the patients
- Getting involved in the designing, managing, undertaking, and disseminating research.
Members of the public bring perspectives and skills that are not always the same as those of researchers and health and social care professionals. Their involvement helps to ensure that the entire research process is focused on what is important to people and is therefore more relevant and acceptable to the users of services.
The Research and Innovation department is actively looking for expressions of interest from Public and Patient Involvement, should you have interested parties please provide them with an expression of interest form.
For any queries regarding patient and public involvement, please email: RDI
Don’t forget to share you research stories!
Research is helping shape the way healthcare is delivered. If you are involved in one of our studies, we would love you to share your story.
You can follow, tag and share by searching @LivHospitalsri on X and Instagram or email us directly: ricommunications@liverpoolft.nhs.uk.
